Sun Kissed
by ATHPluver
Summary: There was also something bugging Elsa to her very core, bringing up old feelings and doubts. It was that November that the platinum blonde realized her worst fears of losing the love of her life were starting to surge through, self doubt sucking her into her deepest depths of anxiety. Elsanna, non incest. Rated M for suggestive themes, later chapters, and swearing. No flames please
1. Overture

**I really have no explanation for this new story. It just kind of popped into my head while in Musical Theatre and my friends were singing Take Me, Leave Me from Rent for their duet assignment and I just—**

_**Elsanna idea holy fuck.**_

**Although, this won't be like Rent _at all_. I've yet to sit down and watch the entire thing (I know I'm a bad person). Other than my other Elsanna, there will be more swearing, sexual content (possibly a Lemon but idk I might just imply [unless you guys want a Lemon {or smut, basically if you are unaware of the term 'lemon'}, then let me know 'cause I'll do it]), and some flashbacks regarding how the girls met.**

**They're not related so no incest. That's the only way I can ship them without feeling guilty or whatever.**

**Ages:**

**Anna Christensen- 20  
****Elsa Andersen- 22 (turning 23)  
****Kristoff Bjorgman- 23  
****Hans Westerguard- 23  
****Eugene Fitzherbert- 25  
****Rapunzel Gerste (soon to be Fitzherbert)- 23  
****Merida Fowlis- 20**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN**

* * *

Elsa had no idea how Anna managed to keep so tan with bunches of freckles plastered all over her skin when she had been born and raised in Seattle. If anything, when they first met, Elsa expected that Anna lived in California at some point in order to gain her sun kissed complexion. It was the first thing that Elsa noticed about her and the first thing that drew her in. Then it was her smile, personality, and charm. Then everything else fell into place, Elsa becoming hopelessly smitten. Anna was truly intoxicating— an absolute drug and Elsa was a willing addict. No rehabilitation center on Earth could possibly cure her cravings.

What made Anna fall for Elsa was quite a shock to everyone. When they first met, it seemed like Elsa wanted nothing to do with Anna after a short while. But Anna kept chasing after her, wanting to be friends, and then finding herself breathlessly in love with the quiet, bespectacled bookworm. It wasn't until Elsa allowed Anna in did their bond grow into their inseparable friendship and eventual relationship.

Yet, in spite of their constant need for one another in intimate affections, neither of them really showed their animalistic urges. Elsa was usually so placid on the outside and Anna was normally peppy with her bright smile so nobody could guess how heated— in more ways than one— they could get. Nobody but each other. And neither of them cared for that to be released to the public thank you very much.

Although on the surface their relationship seemed perfect, it was full of problems like most normal romances were. They fought with one another over little things, cried, pushed buttons, and yelled. It would usually result in one of two things. 1). One of the girls would sleep on the couch until they were humble and cooled enough to apologize or 2). Make up sex that alleviated their fury into passion, which always ended up with them apologizing and letting the other know that they were beautiful/loved them.

However it ended, they always managed to come out of it closer and stronger than before.

But Anna was still young— a bright girl of twenty who had been in this partnership with Elsa for six years. She was fearless and swore like a sailor when she was especially fired up over something. While Elsa, on the other hand, was silent and always had her head in a book. She swore sometimes when she felt her expansive vocabulary wasn't enough to further explain how she felt. But Anna was much more riled than Elsa.

There was also something bugging Elsa to her very core, bringing up old feelings and doubts. Deep down, she knew that Anna was inexperienced in relationships because she had been stuck with Elsa for such a long time— Elsa's words and thoughts, not Anna's. It was that November that the platinum blonde realized her worst fears of losing the love of her life were starting to surge through, self doubt sucking her into her deepest depths of anxiety.

She just hoped that she was wrong…

* * *

_The Place: Seattle, Washington; Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2014  
__The Time: 3:42 AM  
__The Weather: Rainy (as usual)_

Sirens were blaring outside as they rushed down the wet and slippery streets, their red and blue lights reflecting off the glistening pavement. Cool rain was descending from the navy blue, cloudy sky. The small amount of cars that were out in this early hour of the morning pulled over in order to allow the police to pass by uninterrupted. The whining of the cars faded away, their wheels skidding along as they continued ripping down the lanes. And so the cars went idly on their way, heading home after a long day or heading to work to begin one.

Is wasn't the sirens that woke Elsa, however. She had been sleeping peacefully on her side of the bed without a care in the world, dreaming of plans for breathtaking skyscrapers and jaw dropping photos with her name plastered all over them. The water on her bedside table rippled slightly as the Earth let out the tiniest tremor, hardly disturbing its worldly inhabitants. No, what woke her was the sound of drunken giggling coming from the front room as her girlfriend attempted to unlock the door.

Elsa had no intention on getting out of bed to assist her. Anna had figured out how to get inside plenty of times when she came home wasted so there was no point in dragging herself out of bed to waste her breath from scolding her and energy from getting up. She was far too comfortable and warm to move regardless.

Thankfully, Anna needn't such assistance for she managed to barge inside and slam the door hard behind her, covering her mouth with her hands so she wouldn't disturb Elsa whom she thought was still sleeping. Of course, the older girl had already been shaken out of her slumber but Anna didn't know that.

So she decided to wake her herself.

Barely concealing a breathy laugh, Anna stumbled through the living room, knocking over the video games stacked on the floor from her last session in teaching a hesitant Elsa how to play Grand Theft Auto, tumbled across the kitchen, down the hallway of their little apartment, and finally reaching their bedroom.

"Heeeeey, Elsaaaaaa~," Anna purred with a drunken sway as she swung the bedroom door open. She kicked off her shoes and crawled onto the bedspread, her fingers dancing up Elsa's back, startling the girl into more of an awoken state than she had been in before. "I missed you."

"Go to sleep, Anna," Elsa grumbled. "I have to get up early in the morning so I really don't have time for—"

"Oh, c'monnnnnn," Anna slurred, her breath ghosting over Elsa's neck. "Don't you wanna have some fun~?" She rubbed her lips gently on Elsa's nape. "I can go down on you tonight—"

"Anna, I swear to god," Elsa growled, suppressing a moan for Anna was toying with one of her sensitive spots.

"I know you like it," Anna continued, not registering the irritable attitude her exhausted girlfriend was emitting.

Elsa let out a huff and got out of bed, ripping her pillow off and storming into the living room. "I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Awh, Elsaaaaaa!" Anna whined after her, rolling over onto her back in the middle of the bed. "Come back…" Her lids fell shut and her sloshed brain decided that it was time for Anna to knock out right then and there.

She awoke to the smell of coffee, light trying to bleed through the curtains and the ominous clouds. Occasionally it would be obscured by billowing grey clouds and vanish, leaving Anna in a hazy darkness. She massaged her throbbing temple and sat up as slow as possible, grumbling swears under her breath.

Anna managed to reach the bathroom and took two Advil, running water down her throat after each pill. She screwed her eyes shut and clutched either side of the sink's counter, trying to collect a legible thought. Weakly she grabbed her green toothbrush and vanilla-flavored toothpaste to get rid of the putrid flavor of booze and what she hoped wasn't puke out of her mouth. After that, she brushed her hair before walking into the kitchen.

Elsa, with light bags under her bespectacled eyes, was leaning on the counter and sipping her mug full of fresh tea. There was some coffee ready for Anna in a to-go cup, cream and sugar already applied. The ginger haired girl grinned sleepily and gathered her cup in her hands, clutching it up to her nose and inhaled the warm scent of the beverage through the little slit in the top.

"G'morning," she greeted as she took a sip.

"Mm," was Elsa's reply, her lips still attached to the top of her cup.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Fine until you came home drunk like it was nobody's business."

Anna blinked. "What?"

"You don't remember your suggestion of sex last night after you got home from Megara's latest raging sorority party?" Elsa reminded her, putting down her cup and turning towards the toaster, the appliance serving up Anna's pop-tart.

"… No."

"Well, you did and then I left to sleep on the couch," Elsa said dryly, adjusting her glasses.

Anna's eyes skidded over to the living room where she found the remains of a makeshift temporary sleeping place for the platinum blonde. She suddenly felt immensely guilty, hating herself for coming home drunk. It must be getting on Elsa's nerves. Who could blame her though? Once or twice on occasion she didn't care for but it really had to get annoying especially when Anna wakes her up with seductive suggestions in the early hours of the morning.

"Sorry, Elsa," Anna said quietly. "I didn't mean to— you _know_ I don't mean to. Really, I have no brain when I'm drunk."

Elsa chuckled. "No brain in general but I'll forgive you regardless."

"Hey!" Anna retorted but a smile betrayed her supposedly hurt feelings. "That wasn't very nice."

"You deserved every bit of it." Elsa handed Anna her pop-tart. "Go and change into something that doesn't smell like bad decisions before I drop you off."

"Good thinking," Anna said with a nod, taking her breakfast. "Aren't you gonna eat?"

"No, I… I'm not hungry."

"You're sure?"

Elsa nodded, picking up her mug and drinking deeply. Anna put down her coffee and breakfast, not caring that she probably still stunk from last night, and faced Elsa with a small pout. Elsa raised her fair brows at her in question. Without a word, Anna plucked the mug from her grip, set it on the counter, and continued to pout.

"What?" Elsa demanded, cocking her head to one side.

"You didn't gimme my good morning kiss," she said, poking Elsa in the shoulder.

"After last night I think you can wait," Elsa said with a smirk.

"But-!"

"Go and get cleaned up, you dork, and then maybe I'll kiss you. _Maybe_," Elsa told her blandly. "'You have witchcraft in your lips,'" she recited, lifting an eyebrow at the redhead.

Anna huffed dramatically. "_Fine_. Be that way." She stuck her nose in the air, strutting out of the room to get ready for the day. Elsa laughed under her breath, picking up her coffee and drinking it again.

By the time Anna showered and dressed, it was time to go. She snatched her breakfast off the counter to join Elsa in the front room, the pair of them proceeding out to the elevators that awaited them in the main hall. A few tired tenants on their floor were milling about and making idle conversation. Some were sipping their drinks or munching on their to-go breakfasts, eyes hazy and not yet awake.

Elsa spoke quietly to a kind, older woman who went by the name of Lizzie. They were discussing her old home of Radiator Springs, a conversation that they shared every morning for the poor woman was losing her memory day by day. So Elsa liked to keep her company in the hallway before the elevator came up to claim them and bring them all down to Earth.

Anna had her fingers intertwined with Elsa's, her pop-tart being nibbled on while Elsa held her coffee for her. She was drinking in the hall, like she usually did each day, and nitpicked the little changes since last month. The landlord had decided that sky blue was no longer a good color for the room and went with a bright yellow. The sunflowers on one of the random tables had been switched with daffodils. Otherwise, the place looked the same. Just as it had the two years Anna lived with Elsa.

When the elevator arrived, she, Elsa, Lizzie, and a few others entered. One of the more close-minded tenants sneered at the hand-holding of the couple in the front and Elsa caught it in the reflective doors. She sent him a glare and he backed off, mumbling under his breath. Anna felt her tense beside her and gave her hand a loving squeeze, assuring her that everything was okay.

Elsa sent her a tiny smile as they reached the lobby. Lizzie left out the front door so she could catch the bus in time. Others went around the lobby to talk or wait for friends. Elsa and Anna, however, entered the parking garage and found Elsa's car in its spot. They climbed inside and went on their way.

The same routine now that Anna was back in college: Every morning they'd wake up beside one another, get up, argue about bathroom rights, settle the argument with rock-paper-scissors, shower, dress, grab breakfast, and then wait for the elevator. Then it was in the parking garage, Elsa having to remind Anna to put on her seatbelt, reach the bus station, kiss goodbye, catch her bus/drive to work, school/work, school/work, school/work, _lunch_, school/work, "fuck why am I here," walk to work (Anna), work, work, work, catch bus back home, walk home.

In the evening: Cook dinner because Elsa can't cook to save her life, study/work, study/work, study/work, hey look Elsa's home! Give kisses, have dinner, study/read, study/read, watch TV or play video games, coax Elsa into making out for an hour (not always successful), and then knock out in bed.

On weekends: wake up, breakfast, TV, TV, TV, lunch with friends, watch the rain while Elsa reads, dinner date (Saturday was date night), sex if Elsa/Anna felt up to it (usually happened), sleep.

The routine was etched in their brains, burned to their skin, and sometimes they plodded through their day without even thinking about it because it was just natural instinct by now. Anna was starting to get so tired of the daily nonsense so she attempted to spice it up every once in a while. Going out to dinner with friends, bar hopping (with her fake ID), middle-of-the-week-love-making, partying at her university, and going for walks with Elsa. The older girl often agreed to most of these things in order to make their day to day activities more exciting but she was a creature of habit and hers were especially hard to break.

So the day went on just as they expected.

They reached the bus station and Anna pressed her lips firmly to Elsa's, told her she loved her and that she was beautiful, Elsa returning the comments, and then bounded down to the station to catch her bus to her university. Elsa watched her go until her image sat comfortably underneath the awning. Letting out a tired sigh with a wistful smile, the platinum blonde headed to her job.

She worked in a respected photo studio and was one of the head photographers. She worked alongside a few of Seattle's best and most talented and Elsa was proudly amongst them. She had incredible skills when she was put behind a camera and loved to take pictures of almost everything. One album on her computer was full of nothing but Anna, posing ridiculously dramatic, peacefully content, and stone serious. Elsa had fun with the lighting and how she made Anna pose, the ginger having so much fun all the while.

Some of the photos were now on their accent tables and dressers. Other photos consisted of Elsa, Anna and her friends, Elsa and Anna at their high school, the two of them after they made out at a Halloween party (Elsa had gone as Elphaba and Anna as Glinda) and Anna's face was smeared with green and Elsa laughing beside her, and of their respective family members. Photos covered the apartment and whenever someone came over they examined the pictures with awe.

She was also deeply involved with architecture. She loved math almost as much as she loved Anna. It was her precious pastime during school and on her days off; sketching buildings and monuments that she could only dream of. She had a degree in architecture and was attempting to seal the deal with a company that would take her in as a side worker since she wanted to remain with the photo company. They were so close to making her an official employee that Elsa could almost taste her weekend office in their building.

Elsa arrived at the studio right on time, greeting their secretary with a friendly good morning, and entered her office. She sank into her chair and ran a hand through her perfectly platinum hair. She turned on her computer and went through her most recent pictures, humming to herself until her ten o'clock appointment showed up.

There was a knock on the door frame and she glanced up from the monitor to see her co-worker and old friend Hans leaning against it with a mug of coffee in his grasp.

Lotta coffee in Seattle, Elsa had noted when she moved here twelve years ago. She was more of a tea person but after living with amongst the coffee-filled streets of the Emerald City, she developed a taste for it.

"Morning, Elsa," he said.

"Hi," she said, returning her gaze to her computer. "Can you come back later? I have to finish picking out photos for the Parr's album."

"I'll be brief," he said, sitting in the chair opposite her desk.

"You don't look like it," she said bitterly. "Hans, you know that I love you and your infamously lengthy discussions but I really need to—"

"I promise," he said, crossing his heart.

"Yeah, okay let's see how long that'll last."

He grimaced. "Just listen up, okay?"

"Mhm."

"I have a new project that was given to me by Phil and I need your help."

"Mhm."

"It requires a few models and I'm thinking you and Anna can be great for a part of it."

"Mhm."

"Are you even listening to me?" he pouted.

"Mhm."

"Elsa!"

"Yeah… yeah, sorry." She tore her eyes from the computer with a sheepish grin, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "You know how I can get. What is this for again?"

"A project about true love," he replied. "I have Punzie and Eugene posing for some pics and I have my seventh brother, Viktor, and his boyfriend pose. I'd like you and Anna to pose, too."

"I'm sure she'll be up for it," she said. "Now can you leave?"

"Wow, rude."

"Hans, really I need to finish this," she said gruffly, pointing out of her office. "See you at lunch."

He smiled and got to his feet, waving with his free hand. "Just let me know when you have your final answer."

"Will do," she promised as he left her alone.

She and Hans were friends since her freshman year of high school and were the biggest "sass-masters" when stuck together. Although he usually hung out with his own buddies while Elsa stuck to hiding out in the library, he was quick to come to her aid. The two did have some falling outs, however, saying harsh things to one another and giving each other grief for certain situations or life choices.

Otherwise, the two were on pretty great terms.

Not thirty minutes later, the secretary told her that Edna Mode had shown up with her model, ready to be photographed for her newest line of dresses. Elsa stood up, grabbed her prized camera from the corner of her office, and met her clients in the lobby. She led them to the back rooms that held twenty sets for photo displays, ten on each side. Edna picked out the white room with the false piano, squawking orders at Elsa as she marched around the model.

A few assistants ran around to adjust the lighting for the pictures, shouting at one another and putting the rack of dresses behind a changing screen. Amidst all the chaos one of Elsa's fellow photographers, Aladdin, came up beside her with an amused expression on his face, his hands folded behind his back.

"What's so funny?" Elsa demanded, toying with her lens.

"Stuck with Edna Mode again, are you?" he chuckled.

"Every November and February catalogue, she comes to me," Elsa sighed, watching Edna talk rapidly with one of the interns about how awful his lighting was. "And you always mock me. Nothing new."

"Not my fault Phil gives you Edna," he said.

"He doesn't give her. She requests me." Elsa grinned slyly at him. "I guess I'm just one hell of a photographer."

"With great power comes great responsibility," he recited, nudging her in the ribs. "Godspeed, Snow Queen." He ran a hand through his dark hair and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, thanks," she grumbled irritably. She addressed Edna. "Is everything set here?"

"You tell me. These morons have no idea— _no_ idea— how to light up a set," she sniffed, adjusting her thick glasses.

"We're doing our best!" whined one.

"Silence!" Edna barked.

The interns began to get defensive and yell at her. She snapped back, her eyes becoming wild and her arms animated as she yelled. Aladdin smirked and patted Elsa on the shoulder, murmuring a good luck before he walked back to his office.

"Okay!" Elsa shouted. The girl hardly ever raised her voice so it quieted the bickering in a heartbeat. "Let's begin and _I_ will be the judge of the lighting, thank you very much!"

Edna grunted and stood beside Elsa, arms crossed and nose in the air.

* * *

When the day was over, _finally over_, Elsa came home earlier than Anna and sank into the couch. She draped her arm over the back of the couch and her lids slipped shut, rubbing her eye with her other hand. There was a soft mewing noise, making Elsa open her eyes. Their white, fluffy cat Olaf was perched on the other arm of the couch with his big brown eyes staring at her.

"Hello, Olaf," she greeted. "Stay over there, okay? You know that Mommy is allergic to you."

But Olaf didn't listen. He happily trotted across Elsa's legs and nestled himself on her stomach. She could already feel her eyes watering but she didn't have the heart to tell him to scram. She liked cats because they were quiet creatures but she couldn't keep one too close to her because of her terrible allergies. Anna had spotted him the first year they lived together and begged Elsa to get him. They had gone to a kennel to get some kind of pet— a dog like Kristoff had— but Anna had fallen in love with the little kitten as soon as she saw him.

Elsa couldn't say no.

She enjoyed Olaf's company but it was harder than she expected. The cat didn't seem to care in the slightest about her shoving him away on occasion, only to snuggle against her hand in innocent response. Anna thought that their little relationship was the cutest thing in the world, giggling every time that Olaf attempted to play with Elsa by batting at her braid and purring.

The front door unlocked and Anna trudged inside, tossing her bag on the floor. The cat noticed his owner's return and leapt off of Elsa, to her relief, and rubbed against Anna's legs as the girl shut the door.

"Hiya," Anna said to Elsa and Olaf.

"Heya," Elsa replied, giving her a tiny wave. "How was work?"

Anna was a barista in one of Seattle's many Starbucks. She enjoyed it very much, got paid well, and always brought something home for Elsa is she had time to make anything.

"Tiring," was Anna groan.

Elsa swung her legs off the couch so Anna could sink beside her. The redhead leaned over and rested her head in the crook of Elsa's neck. The older girl inhaled the intoxicating scent of coffee that always followed Anna home after work.

Elsa's favorite smell.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to make you a frap before I left," Anna breathed into her skin.

"It's okay. I had coffee with lunch anyway," Elsa said, stroking Anna's hair affectionately.

"I guess it's true what they say about Seattle and coffee," Anna giggled.

"Guess so."

Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist and pressed a kiss on Elsa's jaw line. She felt Elsa run her arm around her shoulders and her thumb rub gentle circles against her arm. Anna hummed pleasantly and her eyes fluttered shut, pressing closer into Elsa's body, relishing at their closeness.

"How was your day? Stuck with that Edna woman again?" Anna asked. "Every November, right?"

"That's right. And of course, she's just as crazy as ever," Elsa sighed.

"I'm sorry," Anna mumbled, her breath tickling Elsa's skin. "I should go over there and drive her into sanity."

"Let's not. She's my highest paying customer even though she gives me a lot of shit."

"Nobody gives my girlfriend shit. That's _my_ job."

"Yeah… hey, hold on!"

"Payback for this morning, punk!" Anna said, sitting back and letting her fingers dig into Elsa's sides. The platinum blonde squealed and leapt off the couch, running from her girlfriend's tickle attack.

"Anna! S-stop!" Elsa pleaded, the other girl's fingers gently scraping her hips every chance she got.

They were running around the couch, Anna's grin malicious and Elsa's breathless. It wasn't until Anna grabbed her around the waist and forced her onto the window sill did they stop the game of cat and mouse. They leaned on one another, trying to catch their breath, stupid grins on their faces.

"You jerk," Elsa chastised, shoving her hand into Anna's face and pushing her back into the pillows of the sill.

Anna laughed, running a hand through her bangs. "Sorry. But you deserved it."

"Whatever." Elsa got to her feet and Anna followed her into the kitchen. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Oh, I dunno," Anna said, glancing at the fridge. "I think I can whip up something. What are you feeling tonight? I can grill up some salmon. I'm sure it's fresh. I mean, we bought it Monday."

"Salmon's fine…" Elsa rubbed a sore muscle in her neck. "I'm gonna wash up."

"All right," Anna said as Elsa left to the bathroom. "Dinner'll be ready once you're all done in there."

"Sounds good."

During dinner, Anna glanced up from her plate and toyed with her fish wordlessly. Elsa was eating straight-backed and mannered, just as she always did. Anna was slouched and her elbows were resting on the table.

"Hey, Elsa?" Anna said. "Are you still mad about last night?"

"…Not exactly," Elsa said smoothly, meeting her gaze. "I just don't want you to do this too often anymore. You should be focusing on your studies."

"I am, I promise. But I'm just… hell, I dunno," Anna shrugged with a frown. "I'm still really sorry about making you sleep on the couch."

"It's okay, Anna, really," Elsa assured, reaching across the table and resting her hand on top of hers. Anna beamed at her and intertwined her fingers with Elsa's.

* * *

_The Place: Seattle, WA; Garfield High School  
__The Date: Monday, 2007  
__The Time: 1:15 PM  
__The Weather: Partly Cloudy_

She was always a quiet girl. Sitting by herself in the back of the library with her head buried in her favorite book: _A History of the Modern World_, drawing buildings and people during her TA period (which was also in the library), and keeping her perfect grades intact. It had been like that since her freshman year and she was perfectly content with it.

Elsa didn't care much for the company of people because all her life she had been pushed around by them, ridiculed, teased, and bullied relentlessly. Her self confidence and trust dwindled significantly since middle school and the little girl who was once a social creature became one of silence and books.

Sure she had some friends that she talked to during Study Hall or Musical Theatre. Elsa believed that they really just pitied her and that was the only reason they spoke to her. She hated herself to her core and wanted to be left alone so she wouldn't get rejected or disappointed again.

Her senior year changed significantly when her Musical Theatre teacher assigned them their first duet of the year. It was a free choice of partners so Elsa knew she'd just end up singing a solo for a grade just like she had for the past three years in that class. Who in the world would want to pair up with her anyway?

Elsa was hunched over her sketch pad when a shadow obscured the luminescent lights that were imprinted in the ceiling. She glanced up to see a girl she had never met before. She was wearing a perfect blend of dark pink and olive green, freckles patching her skin, and her smile warm.

"Hiya!" the girl greeted.

"Heya…" was all Elsa could stammer out.

"What's your name?"

"Elsa Andersen."

"Oh, that's really pretty." The girl sat on the desk in front of her. "I'm Anna Christensen." She placed a freckled hand over her heart. "I'm a freshman so I'm an absolute nobody. But I plan on changing that by the end of this semester." Anna laughed. "It's nice to meet you, Elsa."

"Likewise."

"Ooh, you're not much of a talker, are ya? I can totally tell. That's okay. I'm a talker! I can do all the talking for us. I really can have a one-sided conversation with just about everybody. My friend Merida thinks that I was born with Talkaholism, whatever that is. I think that my doctor said something about that, too, but he might have been kidding. He had gotten back from a vacation in Cuba when he told me so maybe he was crazy from all the fun. Did you know that Americans aren't allowed to go to Cuba? Isn't that an absolute _bummer_? My biggest dream is to travel all over the world but _nooooooo_. I can't go to Cuba. The next thing you know, we won't be allowed to go to China or— god forbid— England. I was born and raised in Seattle so the city gets a tad boring but I think it's a familiar charm, y'know? Familiar… yeah… but I digress."

As Anna started to ramble, Elsa couldn't fight back the smile that was forcing itself to spread across her face. Anna obviously had absolutely no censor and no off button. The girl managed to get from one topic to another in a heartbeat which was highly entertaining for the older girl. She had listened to every word because it was the polite thing to do but she had found herself enticed with her speech in spite of it all.

She let a long breath and grinned at Elsa. "So, anywho. I came here to ask if you wanted to be my duet partner."

Elsa found herself speechless. She had absolutely no expectation that someone would ask her to be a partner. Everyone thought she was a freak, right? This girl certainly had a lot to learn about her. And once she found out how weird Elsa was, Anna would leave her just like all of Elsa's friends did eventually.

"Uh… why?" came Elsa's response.

"'Cause I think you and I can be friends. And I get it— you probably don't want to be seen with this weirdo." Anna jabbed a thumb in her chest. "A creepy freshman without a sense to shut up every once in a while."

"That's… not what I was thinking."

"Well, good. Most people do."

"They're wrong."

Anna blinked. "Are they? They most always say it straight into my face."

"Don't you care?"

"Why should I? They're throwing empty words at me. _I'm_ the only one who should care about what I think about myself. Nobody else."

Elsa envied this girl's self confidence. She wished she had that mindset in order to stand up to bullies and tell them to back off, to make real friends, and to be happier.

"So… wanna be my partner?" Anna repeated, beaming and making every freckle on her sun kissed skin pop.

Sun kissed, yes that was the kind of skin she had. She had said she was born and raised in Seattle but that was impossible. For as long as Elsa lived in the city, the sun hardly shined down— save for the summer— enough to give a local a glorious complexion like Anna.

"Why me?" Elsa finally inquired.

"I like you, Elsa. I dunno what I like about you yet but it's positive, rest assured."

Elsa allowed herself to smile again. "I'd like that."

"Really!? Yay!" Anna spread her arms in success, promptly knocking over a tissue box on the bookshelf next to them. She didn't notice. Instead, she clapped her hands before resting them over her heart again. "I have a bunch of songs we can sing together. Sheet music and all!"

"Sounds like fun."

"We're gonna be best friends, Miss Andersen," Anna insisted with a wag of her finger. "We'll rock the house with our singing— which I bet you're awesome at— and become instantly popular. Unless _you_ are already. Which I wouldn't doubt so it'd just be me becoming popular. I mean, you're so pretty and stuff so I— is that your natural hair color? It is!? Oh, wow! It's gorgeous. I wish I could have hair like that. Jeez, I have terrible hair. It never cooperates…"

And there she went again, jabbering on and on jumping from hair to make-up and then movies. Elsa watched her with an amused expression, liking this girl more than she anticipated she would.

And that terrified her.

* * *

**So you guys, this is my starting chapter. If you like it and want more do let me know. I have a Tumblr (athpluver) which you can follow but you don't have to. It's really a Frozen blog with spurts of my other fandoms here and there.**

**Not every chapter will have a flashback but I promise they are all significant to the story by the middle (which will be when the flashbacks are at their peak and dwindle to none by then).**

**See you next time!**


	2. The Restart

**Another day, another chapter. Sun Kissed is ready to continue on. Gimme positive feedback and any suggestions (you guys want a Lemon?)**

**Elsa conflicts arise in this chapter that will constantly be involved in the story.**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN**

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Friday, 7 November 2014  
__The Time: 7:04 PM  
__The Weather: Drizzling_

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!" Anna cried as her character was shot in the head. "You guys are _cheats_!"

"We love you too, Anna," came Kristoff's reply through her earpiece.

"You're camping somewhere and I will find you, tear your heart out, and feed it to my cat!" Anna threatened as she respawned, directing her character to run through Los Santos. "Olaf will enjoy your bleeding heart, Kristoff."

"What about Eugene? He's an asshole right now, too!" Kristoff argued.

"Hey!" Eugene spat. "Fuck off, Bjorgman."

A wondrous Friday evening was being spent by Anna and Elsa as they sat on the couch together. Elsa was reading and Anna was playing her beloved Grand Theft Auto V. She was worrying her lip between her teeth, her bangs in her face but she couldn't spare to release the controller for a second lest she be killed by her fellow opponents on Playstation live. Elsa would glance up once or twice from _A History of the Modern World_ to watch Anna's progress and smirk the tiniest bit when Anna would swear like a sailor after one of her friends shot her.

When the remark referring to Olaf, who was peacefully curled up in Elsa's lap— having ignored all of the girl's protests and sniffles— was made, Elsa had snorted into her fist, earning a grin from her girlfriend.

"You wanna have a go next?" Anna offered, turning her attention back to the television. "What? No, Kristoff, I'm talking to Elsa… Kristoff and Eugene say hello."

"Hi," Elsa said back.

"She says hi… no, fuck you I'm not saying that," Anna said, her expression turning sour. "Anyway, Elsa, you want a turn?"

"I'm horrendous at this genre, Anna. You know that perfectly well after witnessing my abysmal attempts in playing your assassin games in which I am unable to reach the top of the Vatican," Elsa said, adjusting her glasses.

"Yeah but GTA is far more violent than Assassin's Creed," Anna said dryly, shooting Eugene's avatar in the head and earning a dirty slur from his end. She laughed with triumph and continued to speak with Elsa. "It has more sex, drug use, and all that fun stuff. AC is, like, beautiful in the way the story flows— well, some of the games in the series were fillers but I mean the story within the story. Like, of the actual assassins and not Desmond being a— _fuck you, Kristoff…_! I know it's you…! Yes, it is! Who else would name themselves blonde_ice_hunk987. Seriously, what kind of name is _that_?" She blinked, recovering from her violent snarl and smiled at Elsa. "Sorry… what was I saying?"

"You lost me at 'the way the story flows,'" Elsa told her, her eyes skimming over her book.

"You're no fun," Anna teased. "How can I express my love of video games onto you when you hardly pay attention? …Ew, Kristoff, that's _disgusting_!"

"Anna, you know I have no idea what you talk about half the time when it comes to this topic."

"And you call yourself my girlfriend." Anna shook her head heavily. "I have obviously failed in mentoring you in— Eugene Fitzherbert, I hope you enjoy your ass being handed to you because I am going to— _Kristoff!_" Anna shouted and flailed her controller wildly as she got shot once again. "_I will find out where you are camping and hack your dick off!_"

"Anna!" Elsa wailed, her eyes widening.

There were howls of laughter that followed after the outburst, heard by both Elsa and Anna because they were so loud. Eugene started to claim he couldn't breathe and Kristoff was hiccuping with bouts of mirth. Anna blushed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sorry, Els, I got carried away back there," Anna said guiltily.

Elsa cracked a grin and shook her head.

"My goodness, you certainly did," she said. "Calm down, you goof, before our neighbors start banging on the door."

"I will as soon as I murder Kristoff," Anna assured.

Elsa marked her place in her book and nudged Olaf off her lap. She stood up and stretched her arms.

"Hey, I'm gonna make some tea. Want any?" Elsa asked as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Sure… green tea, if you please," Anna said.

"As you wish," Elsa muttered as she planted a kiss on Anna's head.

Anna continued to play, swearing violently at her two guy friends as they continued to kick her butt in the game. Meanwhile, Elsa entered the kitchen and was setting the kettle onto one of the burners on the stove. She was humming to herself when she felt it. Elsa paused, scrunching her brows slightly and waited for something to happen.

The pressure was slight but noticeable, just over her heart. Her hands felt clammy and sweaty for half a second and her shoulders trembled enough to force a tiny shudder out of her lips.

And then it was over. All in a blink of an eye, Elsa had felt the fleeting symptoms of one of her panic attacks. It had been a while since she had experienced a very severe and painful one, therefore she was stunned that the symptoms were rising again. They were subtle so she felt that is wasn't such a big deal. Even Anna didn't know that Elsa was getting them bit by bit.

It was a secret Elsa was trying to keep under wraps until they got worse. They were nothing to worry about, she believed, so Anna needn't know just yet.

So Elsa took three deep breaths, feeling her sense of panic slip away.

"Babe, you all right?" Anna asked from the couch.

"I'm fine," Elsa said, sending her a smile. "…Just fine." She glanced down at the kettle and chewed on her lip, waiting for the water to heat up.

"_Hey!_ Eugene, you can't just blow up my car like that!" Anna shouted, startling Elsa faintly. "Stop laughing at me. I'm coming for you, fucker."

Elsa rolled her eyes with an endearing smile. "You're so aggressive."

"It's the only way I can possibly win against these idiots," Anna replied smoothly, a smirk crawling across her lips. "Aggressive is the only way in GTA is what I always say. Haha, like the rhyme scheme, Els?"

"It's beautiful," Elsa quipped.

"Isn't it…? No, Kristoff, go die in a hole," Anna said, making her avatar shoot Kristoff's in the head. "Ha! Found your camping spot! Told you I would."

"Yeah but you didn't hack my dick off," Kristoff reminded her.

"Didn't have time before I blew your brains out," Anna laughed. "Maybe the next round."

Elsa returned shortly with two mugs of tea. She sat beside Anna and placed the mugs on the coffee table, pulling her feet onto the couch before tucking them under herself. She watched Anna play her game until the redhead logged out, tired of shouting at her guy friends.

She tossed her headset onto the table, her controller following shortly afterward. She collected her mug and sighed before taking a hearty sip.

"_Man_, am I exhausted," Anna groaned. "I had to sit and listen to my Art History professor hack into his handkerchief for a good five minutes. I swear, he was about to cough up a lung."

"That bad, hm?" Elsa chuckled.

"It was awful. Merida and I really wanted to bail. Poor guy, though. He's so old and I think he's getting sicker and sicker with each day." Anna leaned against Elsa's side and kissed her jawline. "He's also assigning us this research paper. I'm so _done_ with school. Christmas break can't come fast enough."

"You'll survive," Elsa said, nudging Anna's forehead affectionately with her nose.

"No, I won't," Anna giggled, resting her mug on the table. Then she proceeded to throw herself across Elsa's lap dramatically, laying a hand over her face. "I'm gonna _die_ but the end of this semester."

"Two years left of college, Sweetie," Elsa said. "Counting this year, I mean. It's all worth it in the end."

Anna sat up again and pressed her face into Elsa's neck, inhaling the cool scent of mint. It always reminded her of freshly fallen snow. One of her most favorite smells.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, college grad," mumbled Anna against Elsa's skin, responding to her previous comment. "I'm not as academically driven as you are, remember?"

"You've always been your own kind of learner," mused Elsa, her finger tracing the top of her mug. "But that's what makes you Anna."

"Damn straight."

Elsa adjusted her head slightly and captured Anna's lips in hers, her warmth contracting with Elsa's unusually cool pair. Elsa nearly dropped her mug as she brought her hand up to caress Anna's cheek. She fumbled with it instead before placing it down on the coffee table, not removing herself from Anna's embrace.

The ginger nipped at Elsa's bottom lip, wanting access and Elsa gladly obliged. Anna brought her closer, her hands pressing against Elsa's back. Their kiss continued and Elsa's mind was in a daze.

Anna pulled back with a growl. "Your goddamn glasses."

The blonde laughed and removed her spectacles, resting them beside her cup. Anna then pulled her back over, their lips colliding once again. It wasn't until Elsa's phone buzzed in her pocket did they stop their make out session.

Elsa broke off, gave Anna a guilty grin, and whipped out her phone.

"Hello. Elsa Andersen speaking," she spoke into it, getting up from the couch and trying to catch her breath. "Oh, how are you, Phil…? Yes, I'm getting the photos to them by next Thursday…"

She took the call into the other room, leaving Anna alone on the couch. The redhead pouted and stretched out, waiting for her girlfriend to return so they could resume their passionate kisses. Olaf kept Anna company as he hopped onto her lap, his claws accidentally digging through her leggings, causing her to cry out in mild pain.

"Fuck, Olaf!" she whined. "Sharp, dude!"

He blinked at her, purring innocently. Anna sighed and scratched her cat behind his ear. He mewed and nuzzled against her palm, bringing a smile to her face.

"Awh, I can't stay mad at you," cooed Anna. "You're far too cute to make me mad. Silly kitty, kitty."

Elsa returned as she put her phone back into her pocket, sitting back beside Anna. Olaf leapt off the ginger's lap and slinked off into the hallway. Anna groaned out and stretched again.

"I'm tense. My back really hurts," she mumbled. "Els, can you—"

"Yeah. Here— sit up," Elsa ordered gently.

Anna obeyed, tossing her braids over her shoulders so they wouldn't get in the way. Elsa began to knead her fingers into the sore spots of Anna's back, earning a little moan in relief from her.

"You give the best massages," Anna mused. "Mm… a little to the left. Right… yeah, _yeah_ right there."

The older girl chortled softly. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah but… just keep…" Anna trailed off, her eyes fluttering closed which made Elsa grin to herself.

* * *

_The Place: Garfield High School  
__The Date: Tuesday, 2007  
__The Time: 1:27 PM  
__The Weather: Sunny_

"Hiya!" Anna's cheerful voice sang as she bounded over to Elsa. "Look, I got the songs for us to sing!"

_Oh… so she wasn't joking_, Elsa thought.

Before she could say anything a thick pile of papers landed onto her desk, over her Trigonometry assignment that she had been double checking. The impact made her flinch slightly and her pencil was knocked out of her hand, falling to the floor with a clatter. She pursed her lips and glanced up at Anna over the rims of her glasses.

"So I've narrowed it down to _For Good_ from Wicked, _Take Me or Leave Me_ from Rent, aaaaaaand… _How the Other Half Lives_ from Thoroughly Modern Millie. I've got tons more at home but these sound best with my kind of voice. What are you?"

"Mezzo-Soprano," Elsa deadpanned, bending over to retrieve her pencil.

"_Really_!? Well, damn, that's pretty cool!" Anna praised. "Yeah, my voice varies depending on the song." She plopped herself in the seat in front of Elsa's desk again so her legs were jutting out from the side, craning her back so she could face Elsa and talk about the sheet music. "Okay, which do you think? Have you seen any of these?"

"I saw Rent as a movie two years ago," Elsa responded, shuffling through the papers.

"Oh, yeah?"

"But… I've always wanted to see Wicked. I worship Idina Menzel," Elsa admitted shyly. "She's my favorite actress and singer of all time."

"Mhm, she's a _queen_," Anna laughed. "Based on that, let's get rid of Millie…" Anna swiped away the paper and placed it on the desk next to them. "That narrows it down to Wicked and Rent. Ooh, have you ever been to New York? I've always wanted to go and see a show on Broadway but I've hardly left Washington. I went to Florida once on a trip to Disney World but it's not the same as the dirty, smelly, but _absolutely_ culture-filled streets of Manhattan."

"I'm actually from Manhattan… I moved here when I was eleven or so."

Silence… then—

"Oh, oh, oh! I didn't mean that New York was dirty and smelly in a bad way!" Anna said, her face burning. "I meant that as a good thing 'cause, like, it's all about character right? Wait— no, that's in _people_… But it's no insult to New York. It can't help it if it's gross— no, I don't mean it like—"

"Anna!" Elsa raised her voice slightly, cutting the younger girl off. "It's okay."

The ginger rubbed the back of her neck. "S-sorry," she stuttered. "I… I gotta shut up, don't I?"

"No. You don't have to worry about it," Elsa said, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. "I like hearing you talk."

It was Elsa's turn to create a moment of awkward silence between the two. It dawned on her how odd her comment was and dropped her head in her hands.

"Wow… that wasn't stupid at all," she moaned, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Anna laughed and patted the back of Elsa's head. "Love the backhanded compliment, Elsa. Thanks for that." Elsa peeked up at her and found Anna's bright grin dazzling her sun kissed complexion. "If I'm ever super annoying, though, let me know and I'll duct tape my mouth shut." She gave Elsa the thumbs up. "Promise."

The platinum blonde sat up in her seat and took the sheet music off her desk, examining both with squinted eyes behind her crystalline spectacles. Anna watched her, enticed, suddenly noting how adorably beautiful Elsa was. Her eyes were icy and her hair was always in a long, thick braid that dangled over her left shoulder. She was sporting the same blue beanie she wore yesterday, bangs dangling in her face. Light freckles dusted her cheeks and she would absentmindedly lick her lips every so often.

Elsa was also left-handed, pushing the pen or pencil in her hand across the paper as she worked on complex equations Anna knew nothing about moments prior to her introduction of their song choices. When her English class had gotten their first book to read for the semester, Anna had spotted Elsa behind the counter, chatting quietly with the librarian as the freshman were lining up into the textbook room. The redhead deduced that Elsa was a TA during that period… she wondered where Elsa hung out during lunch.

"…And it's just a better fit since I've seen it," Elsa finished, snapping Anna out of her daze. "Sound fair?"

"Say what?" Anna fumbled, blinking stupidly.

Elsa smiled softly. "We're doing Rent. I've yet to see Wicked so…"

"Oh… right," Anna nodded. "Sounds great." She plucked away Wicked's sheet music and placed it on top of Millie's. "You can keep that copy," she said, inclining her head at the paper in Elsa's hand. "I have two. That one is my toss-away; good for notes and such."

Elsa paused as her eyes skimmed over the lyrics. Against her will she glanced up at Anna again. She was wearing a cute pink and white argyle sweater with a turquoise collared shirt beneath it. Her red bangs were hanging on one side of her face with a pink headband keeping the rest of her hair, which had been plaited into two braids, back and out of her face— although it was obviously doing an abysmal job of it. Her teal eyes were looking somewhere over Elsa's shoulder, as if she was pondering something serious.

She hardly knew this girl but that certain something about her was stirring in Elsa's head again. Anna was just so likable, kind-hearted, and sweet. Just by talking to her twice so far gave Elsa that impression… so it was a good thing. She was still skeptical, however. Why on Earth did Anna approach her so cheerfully?

_Well… it's only a matter of time. She's using you as a partner, get a decent grade, and then will most likely leave you in the dust. Just like all your friends did in New York and all your friends did in middle school_, was Elsa's bitter thought.

Anna's eyes flickered to Elsa's and stayed there for a few beats. The blonde's breath hitched and she tore her gaze away, staring forcibly down at her Trig homework instead.

_Oh, jeez. Oh, no— she's so… Anna, why are you sop nice to me…? _She stole a quick glance at her, witnessing her stand up and get her bag before returning to her seat with Elsa.

"You all right, Andersen?" Anna quipped. Her grin faded slowly and her brows scrunched together. "You look… pale."

"I'm usually pale," Elsa said impassively.

"More so than usual," Anna said, her hand twitching, as if it were about to raise.

"I don't know why," Elsa snapped sharply, eyeing it critically.

Anna blinked and her shoulders slumped, the hand lying limp. "I'm sorry…"

The bell sounded loudly above them. Anna remained in the seat as Elsa collected her things from her desk. Without a backwards glance, the senior rushed out of the Drama room, her cheeks flaring with a clash of embarrassment and dismay. She could feel Anna's eyes burning into the back of her neck as the door slammed shut behind her. Elsa walked briskly to her Photo class, shoulders slouched forward, books against her chest, and her eyes darting around the campus in case of any attacker. It was her normal walk ever since she was eleven but it hadn't been triggered like this since the ninth grade.

Now she was back doing it and she was appalled at the way people gawked at her. She glued her eyes to the ground instead until she finally reached her class, taking her seat and ripping her glasses off her face before burying it in her hands.

It wasn't that she was annoyed with Anna. She wasn't at all. The girl was so caring at that point and Elsa snapped at her so brutally almost as if Anna was bullying her. It was another defense mechanism— shoot them down before they could harm deeper and add salt to the wound.

But that hadn't been what Anna had done. She almost reached out to touch Elsa's face and that's when she flipped out, getting out of there as fast as she could. The trouble was, Elsa _wanted_ Anna to care, _wanted_ Anna to reach out.

After all, she had always had a thing for redheads.

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Saturday, 8 November 2014  
__The Time: 11:45 PM  
__The Weather: Cloudy_

Elsa was still awake, wrinkling her nose and letting out a long breath. It had been two hours since she and Anna had gone to bed but she had yet to actually sleep. She simply couldn't. Her mind was whirring, piecing useless things together, driving her mad. Her lover was facing away from her, her ginger hair dangling along her bare, freckle smothered back. Her breath was deep and slow, making Elsa envious that her girlfriend had managed to fall into oblivion.

She hated insomnia. It was one of the symptoms of her anxiety that plagued her from time to time. After the disturbance regarding the fleeting panic attack the other day, Elsa had been concerned that it was creeping up on her again more and more.

With a grunt, she pulled back the blankets and got out of bed, her naked body illuminated by the silver moonlight leaking through the crack in the drapes. She sauntered over to her discarded T-shirt that Anna had torn off hungrily, pulling it over her head. Then she stumbled over to where she believed her panties had been tossed, finding them in between the vanity and the dresser. She tugged those on, grabbed her glasses off the bedside table, and proceeded out to the kitchen.

She didn't bother turning on the main lights and flicked on the light above the oven instead. It cast a soft glow across the cool black and white linoleum floor. Elsa's bare feet made gentle scraping noises against it as she moved from the pantry to the fridge. If she wasn't going to sleep, fine. She can do something else to occupy her time since Anna was obviously too tired to distract.

Elsa poured some milk in a tiny pot and lit the burner beneath it. She stirred every so often until steam was rising from it. Then she took a packet from her favorite box of instant hot chocolate and added it to the milk. Soon enough, she had a piping mug of the sweet drink in her grasp topped off with a dollop of whipped cream.

She sat on the window sill and leaned her head on the crisp glass, watching Seattle at night. It was far quieter than New York but the skyscrapers reminded her enough of home. Although, it had been quite a while since she had visited the Big Apple so she was feeling nostalgic, missing the busy streets and lights of Broadway, smells of vendors in Central Park, and the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

Pondering what she could do about her spreading anxiety, she sipped her hot chocolate and watched cars come and go, late nighters looking like ants on the streets below. The sky was a rich grey threatening to relinquish rain upon the Seattleites.

"Hey," she heard.

Elsa peered over her shoulder to find Anna standing by the couch wrapped in a robe and a pair of fuzzy socks. She was rubbing her eyes and her bottom lip was jutting out sleepily. The very look of Anna's adorableness sent a pleasant warmth through Elsa's lower abdomen. No matter how Anna appeared, she was always too cute for her own good; but sleepy Anna was number two in Elsa's top five.

"Hi," Elsa replied softly.

"What are you doing up?" Anna asked, stumbling over to the sill and sitting opposite Elsa.

"Couldn't sleep," Elsa answered, drinking deeply.

"Yeah? Even after all that?" Anna sent her a lazy wink. "I dunno about you but I was sleeping like a log. You really know how to wear me out."

"I don't mean to."

"It's a _good_ thing, Els. Chillax." Anna pulled her knees up to her chest, leaning her head on the wall behind her. "I just wish I could do the same to you."

"My insomnia has nothing to do with the amount of exhaustion after sex." Elsa glanced outside for a moment. "You've tuckered me out plenty."

"I tucker you out in general," Anna quipped.

The corners of Elsa's mouth twitched upwards. "I suppose you do…"

Anna nudged her with her foot. "Snowbug… are you okay? You seem upset."

"I'm fine," Elsa lied.

The redhead pursed her lips. "Elsa Andersen, are you really trying to lie to me?"

Icy eyes clashed with teal. Anna was smirking slightly, hugging her folded arms across her chest, her brow lifted. Elsa blinked, furrowing her brow in return.

"Really, Elsa. What's the matter?" Anna said, growing more serious. Then her face changed to one of dawning comprehension. "Wait… did you say insomnia? As in, like…?" Anna didn't need to finish her sentence. Elsa knew perfectly well that Anna fit the pieces together and came to the conclusion that anxiety was crawling across Elsa's skin again. "…Why now? What's happened?"

"I don't _know_," Elsa grumbled, baring her teeth. "That's the problem. I have no idea why I'm suddenly… why this is happening." She adjusted her glasses distractedly. "But it's not an emergency, Anna. We don't have to deal with it now."

"We should deal with these things when they start to—"

"I don't want to!" Elsa said, raising her voice. "I _can't_!"

Anna stared faintly at her, blinking in the darkness of the living room. The left side of Elsa's face was glowing with the lights of the city outside. Her face was contorted into one of distress and determination, her hands gripping her mug tightly. Her blinks were slow, her chest rising and falling with every breath she took but a small shudder would cut across the even rhythm, indicating that the chill from the window was giving her a shiver.

"I'm sorry," Elsa whispered. "I'm sorry, Anna. It's no big deal right now, okay? That's all. Insomnia is a symptom but it may have nothing to do with it." She directed a tired smile towards her girlfriend. "I promise, you'll hear about it when— _if_ it gets worse."

The redhead nodded. "If you're sure… then I trust you."

They sat in silence for a few minutes until the clock hanging above the hall doorway chimed merrily that midnight had fallen upon the city.

Anna pushed herself off the sill and stretched her arms behind her back. "I'm going back to bed. Don't be up too long. Remember, we're having brunch with the gang tomorrow morning." She bent down and kissed Elsa's temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Elsa replied, watching Anna walk back through the living room and took the right into the hall.

Once she finished her hot chocolate and dumped the cup into the sink, Elsa returned to the bedroom. She slipped underneath the covers, finally feeling sleepy. She draped her arm around Anna's waist proceeding to bury her face in her hair. Anna smiled drowsily, wrapping her hand around Elsa's protruding wrist.

* * *

_The Place: Café Presse  
__The Date: Sunday, 9 November 2014  
__The Time: 10:03 AM  
__The Weather: Rainy (again)_

"It's not as busy as I thought it would be on a Sunday," Anna commented, crossing her legs. "Did you figure out what you wanted yet, Snowbug?"

"I'm waiting for everyone else," Elsa responded, her head still in the menu.

"Do translate for me," Anna grinned, tapping the menu in front of her on the countertop. "I can't read French at all. I totally failed that class in junior year… I think I did. I mean, I didn't look at my grade 'cause I knew I had most likely failed."

The girls were sitting at the bar near the corner, waiting for their friends to show up and join them. They had gotten up early to get good seats, expecting the usual crowd, but found the place pleasantly emptier than it was on a weekend. In front of Anna was a steaming cappuccino and in front of Elsa was hot tea.

Anna eyed it with a raised eyebrow and clucked her tongue critically. Elsa glanced at her, knitting her brows together.

"What?" Elsa demanded.

"You're such a New Yorker," Anna teased, poking Elsa in the cheek.

"What does me drinking tea have anything to do with me being a New Yorker?" Elsa said dubiously.

"You know you're a true Seattleite if you drink coffee every single day," Anna said with a wink. "Although, we don't always but we can't let the outsiders know that."

"You succumb and drink tea—"

"_Shush!_ I'll be disowned by my family and get kicked out of the _state_ if they found out," Anna said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She pressed a joking finger against her lips. "Coffee good, tea bad."

"You're ridiculous," Elsa hummed, turning her attention back to the menu.

"Fine. Don't believe me." Anna folded her arms. "But you just wait. I'll be reduced to living in the valley in Los Angeles pretend I know everything about every celebrity, take selfies, drink _crappy_ Starbucks, and wear sunglasses that are way too big for my face." Anna touched her thumbs and forefingers together on each hand to form two circles before putting them over her eyes, simulating sunglasses. Then she put on a valley girl accent, swishing her head around dramatically so her bangs were being taken for quite the ride. "Ooh, ooh la, la! I'm so, like, totally going to get a Starbucks and sit and write my sca-reenplay! Like, OMG, Elsa— let's take a selfie and get a thousand likes on Facebook and Instagram."

"I'm pretty sure that most adolescent girls—"

"No, are you kidding? It's all of California. Trust me, okay, I know what I'm talking about." Anna put the accent back on. "I can_not_ believe Ashley is dating Joe. They are so, like, too good for each other then they're, like, perfect. And did you see that new movie about, like, those monkeys! OMG they were soooooo cute!"

"Anna, people are staring—"

"Good! I didn't wear this outfit _not_ to be seen in it," Anna said. "Don't my boobs look great!?"

"They're phenomenal now would you cut it out!" Elsa barked, smacking Anna's hands down from her face.

Anna burst out laughing. "If you don't want that to happen to me, then don't tell my fellow Seattleites that I've ingested anything other than coffee."

Elsa rolled her eyes and sipped her tea placidly. The door to the shop opened and in walked Merida, her wild hair comically stuffed into her hood, bearing _University of Washington State_ across the chest.

"I _hate_ living here," Merida ground out, stomping over to them and sinking into the seat beside Anna. "I hate the rain, I hate the cold, and _fuck_ the entire city."

"Calm yourself," Elsa soothed.

Merida huffed and ordered— surprise, surprise— a coffee.

"And make sure it's scalding. I want my tongue ta burn aff!" she barked after their server, crossing her arms across the counter top. "Git rid of this chill." She tugged down her hood and shuddered. "Ugh… sorry, for the dramatic entrance. Ya knoo I'm not usually this fired up—"

Elsa and Anna snorted. Merida shot them a glare.

"_Anyway_… Anna, did ya finish the assignment for Art History?" she went on.

"I did but I'm probably wrong about everything," Anna said. "I'll get a C minus on there at best."

"That's no way to motivate yourself," Elsa said disapprovingly.

"Naw, Anna's prob'ly right," Merida said. "We hardly are able ta pay attention in that class 'cause all he does is…" She hacked a horrid cough into her hand. Anna giggled.

"Ah so _this_ is the teacher who won't stop coughing," Elsa guessed.

"Bingo!" Anna confirmed.

The coffee for Merida arrived and she took a gulp. Her eyes watered at the heat of the beverage but she refused to set it down. Anna sent Elsa a grin while pointing towards Merida.

"True Seattleite right there," Anna quipped.

"Uh-huh," Elsa said, sipping her tea.

"And you know what else makes a Seattleite?"

"Oh, do tell, Miss Christensen," Elsa drawled with a heavy roll of her eyes.

"We don't know what sun is. But if I'm shipped out to California—"

"Knock it off, will you!?" Elsa snapped, nudging Anna in the ribs.

Merida blinked over her mug but didn't ask about their odd back and forth. She continued to drink from her coffee absentmindedly, the warmth spreading through her cheeks and neck and arms, the cold no longer a bother.

The door opened again and in walked Kristoff as he removed his beanie to shake his wet hair like a dog. He spotted his friends at the bar and grinned crookedly, sinking in the chair beside Elsa. Anna glared at him.

"You have no right to be seated_ near_ me," Anna barked at him.

"And why is that?" he laughed.

"Because you're a dick," Elsa and Anna said in unison.

"Wait, what?" Anna gaped at Elsa, who grinned into her tea. "How'd you know?"

"Six years experience, Baby," was Elsa's reply.

"Wha… but…" Anna flushed and picked up her drink, mumbling to herself.

"Am I a dick because I totally kicked your ass in Grand Theft Auto?" Kristoff said triumphantly.

"Ya played with_out_ me!?" Merida whined.

"I called you!" Anna defended.

The two girls began to bicker about whether or not Anna was a liar. Kristoff beckoned the server over and ordered some orange juice. When Elsa gave him a look in search for explanation, he told her he felt that he was coming down with a cold.

"Ah. I'm sorry about that," Elsa said with a slow nod. "I've been feeling a little under the weather myself."

"November is a bitch, isn't it?" he chuckled.

"You bet," Elsa agreed. "But hey…"

She trailed off, leaving the conversation up in the air. She sniffled distractedly and eyed the menu. Her stomach was rumbling unpleasantly and she wanted to eat desperately. The other three had yet to show up so it was becoming harder for her to deal with the gnawing hunger in her belly.

Anna pressed her lips against the top of Elsa's ear, snapping the blonde out of her haze.

"'I humbly do beseech of your pardon, For too much loving you,'" Anna mumbled.

Elsa blinked, glancing at Anna with confusion. The redhead grinned and winked before returning her attention to her talk with Merida. Kristoff nursed his orange juice with a nebulous stare into space.

Sunday mornings were always so slow in Elsa's opinion. She never really deduced why but she had a few speculations. One was most likely the dreadful fact that Monday was just around the corner. That always put Elsa in a bad mood growing up. She lived for the weekends and survived through the weeks. And Sundays were only enjoyed half-way for Monday always came back to hang over the her head until she got up early the next day.

Two, Elsa believed that it was because her and Anna's sex night had been the one previous so she was still in that drowsy and achey mode where everything was wonderful. She didn't know if other people had this kind of reaction after lovemaking but Elsa was so madly in love with Anna, she figured that was why she did. It was a pleasant drowsiness; almost as if she were running on the tiniest high.

The third reason was yet to be discovered by Elsa but she was still weeding out the possibilities until she came to the perfect deduction to tack onto her list.

With a tired grunt, she removed her glasses and laid them on the countertop, waiting for Rapunzel, Eugene, and Hans to show up and join them. As the door opened and shut with each new customer, Elsa's mouth went drier and drier. She was swearing in her head and her heart was hammering in her chest.

_Damn it… this, too_, Elsa thought. _Social _fucking _anxiety on top of everything else._

Maybe… maybe Anna should—

"I'm so sorry we're late!" cried Rapunzel as she barged in, Eugene and Hans following her briskly. "We got caught up in traffic because _somebody_—" She glared at Hans. "—decided it was a fantastic idea to drive instead of walk."

"It's raining," Hans replied coldly.

"It's always raining, ya bawheid," Merida snapped at him. "It's _Seattle_."

"So what?" Hans complained.

"Suck it up," all the girls told him.

He grunted to himself, hailing the server and ordering some beer. Rapunzel and Eugene both got coffees before everyone _finally_ ordered what they wanted to eat. When Elsa's food arrived, her stomach growled happily as she took a long awaited bite. She hummed over the fork, savoring the flavor of her meal.

"You look starved to death," Rapunzel teased Elsa. "Does Anna forget to feed you?"

"Shut up, Rapunzel!" Anna hissed at her cousin. All Elsa did was laugh.

"No. I've been waiting for _you_, Rapunzel dear," Elsa countered.

Rapunzel flushed and glued her eyes to the plate while Anna joined Elsa in the laughter.

"Apply cold water to the burned area," Anna grinned.

"Just walk outside, then," Eugene imputed, winking.

Merida groaned and rolled her eyes. "Must'a taken ya a day ta write that one."

"It was so funny I forgot to laugh," Elsa drawled.

Eugene pouted into his coffee, tapping the counter moodily.

The rest of the brunch was spent in conversations about the weather, events coming to town, what everyone planned on doing for Thanksgiving, and other things that revolved the ending of the year. Elsa would only put in some of her opinions at times. Otherwise, her focus was placed on her meal and only that.

She felt Anna give her knee a genial squeeze and they met eyes for a brief moment. They exchanged loving smiles as Elsa reached over, kissing her cheek.

"'I am bound to thee forever,'" she finally responded to Anna's statement moments before.

* * *

**So the conflict has begun to rise up: Elsa's anxiety. This will be very important so pay attention!**

**Fav/Follow/Review**

**See you next time!**


	3. Another Day Gone

**Here we are again. Enjoy~**

**Ages of characters mentioned:**

**Megara- 21  
****Giselle- 20  
****Hercules- 23**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN**

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Monday, 10 November 2014  
__The Time: 6:45 AM  
__The Weather: Very Rainy_

Elsa's alarm on her phone woke both of them up right on time. The sound of Idina Menzel singing _Defying Gravity_ was sunken into their biological time clocks so they were half-asleep when the alarm went off, just as they were every morning since last December, expecting it to ring loudly and snapping them out of their stupor. Elsa groaned sleepily anyway and slid her finger across the screen to shut it up. As much as she loved Idina, she couldn't stand anything too empowering about testing the limits and going against the laws of nature in the morning.

It was too exciting for her sluggish brain to register.

Anna hugged her pillow closer, mumbling out a plea for five minutes to sleep in. Her girlfriend smirked and sat up, running a hand through her bangs.

"You have school today." She pushed Anna out of bed with her foot. "Get up!"

"Ow— hey!" Anna whined from the carpeted floor.

Elsa stood up from the bed and stretched her arms while Anna scrambled to her feet, now alert and awake more so than the blonde. She made for the door.

"I call the bathroom!" she shouted.

"Oh no you don't!" Elsa yelled, tearing after her and down the hall. She grabbed Anna's shirt and yanked her back, earning a surprised yelp from the younger girl.

"Lemme go!"

"I'm getting the bathroom!"

"Over my dead body!" Anna protested, reached behind her struggling girlfriend and grabbed her around the neck, wrestling her defiantly. "You take longer showers!"

"Your hair makes you take forever!" Elsa argued.

Her hands went from Anna's shirt to around her waist, using all her strength to lift Anna up, trying to turn her around so she could gain some leeway. The bathroom door was ajar, only two feet in front of the struggling girls, waiting for one of them to claim it as their own for thirty minutes or less.

"Okay! Okay— Anna— _ow Jesusfuck you're pulling my hair!_" Elsa wailed.

"Sorry!" Anna gasped, real easing her grip on Elsa. "I'm so sorry."

Elsa sighed and rubbed the back of her neck where her scalp was smarting the most. "It's fine… ugh, okay." She held out her fist. "Rock-paper-scissors for this."

"As per usual," Anna nodded. "All right." She thrust out her own fist.

"Once, twice, _shoot_!" they chanted simultaneously. Both scissors. "Once, twice, _shoot_!" Both rock. "Once, twice, _shoot_!"

Anna rock; Elsa paper.

"Haha! Paper covers rock!" Elsa said smugly. "I get the bathroom."

"Enjoy it," Anna ground out playfully, sticking her tongue out at her. "I'm going to make breakfast."

"You do that," Elsa teased, heading into the restroom and shutting the door behind her.

Anna pouted for a brief moment before turning on her heel and heading into the kitchen. Olaf was sitting on one of the chairs, making complaining mewing noises.

"Ah, you're hungry, too," Anna giggled. She grabbed some cat food out of the cabinet beneath the sink and poured some in his bowl. "There you go, buddy. _Bon appétit._"

With a purr, Olaf leapt off the chair and trotted over to his bowl, digging his face in his food. Anna giggled and stowed away the bag before shuffling around the kitchen to collect things necessary for her and Elsa's breakfast.

An American classic was set up on the table in Elsa's place: eggs, bacon, and toast with her preferred cup of English tea in her favorite mug with a white printed WICKED stamped across the black gloss. A green silhouette of Elphaba was over the 'i' in place of the dot and 'A New Musical' was above the c-k-e-d, with a green line of 'the untold story of the witches of Oz' beneath it.

Anna sat on the other side with a similar breakfast but in place of toast there were hash browns and her University of Washington State mug held warm coffee rather than tea, the red cougar growling with pride against the black background.

Elsa emerged from the restroom a short while later, her hair up in a bun with that one damned piece of hair falling into her forehead— never wanting to stay in place with the rest of her bangs, which were always slicked back perfectly so. Her crystalline glasses were sparkling in the lamp light, her formal attire for work— a pair of skin-tight jeans and a light blue blouse— neat and crisp. She sat down across from Anna and started to eat in silence.

"Any word from the architecture company or whatever?" Anna asked.

Elsa raised her eyes from her meal. "They're only offering a full-time job now. I got the email last night before bed."

"I'm sorry, Baby," Anna sympathized.

"Well, do I want to take photos for the rest of my life or make a difference in the world by creating buildings," Elsa said, stabbing moodily at her eggs. "I love the photo company, really I do, but by this time next year I'll be making half of what I could currently make in Athenian Firms."

"Wait, Hercules' dad runs that place, right?" Anna inquired.

"Mhm," Elsa nodded. "But, of course, we all know what he wants to do. He's training with Phil— not my boss Phil— for the Olympic Games."

"Right. Meg won't stop talking about that," Anna laughed.

"Still… it's a hard choice. I've made a nice life in the photo company," Elsa sighed, sipping her tea delicately.

"Maybe you can make a compromise and do weekend stuff at the photo place instead," Anna suggested brightly. "Take photos on your free time or only come in one day of the week… I think that's what Aladdin does."

"That's right. He has a wealthy girlfriend so he doesn't need to work that hard."

"Well, why don't you do that? Give yourself an exclusive look." Anna spread her arms enthusiastically. "Make a name for yourself: Elsa Andersen- photo extraordinaire!"

Elsa giggled behind her hand. "I'll talk to Phillip today about it. After I finish shooting for Edna Mode's last dress of the season."

"Thank goodness for that." Anna winked at her from over the rim of her mug.

"Indeed," Elsa replied cheekily.

When Anna finished her meal, she went to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Once she got out, hair in braided pigtails, she dressed in a graphic tee with a picture of the Tardis on the front and skinny jeans. Anna tugged on her red converse and Elsa zipped up her black, stylish rain boots. With her school sweatshirt over Anna's head and Elsa's navy peacoat on her back, they headed out to the lobby to wait for the elevator.

As usual, Elsa spoke with Lizzie while Anna gazed listlessly around the room, chewing on her bottom lip distractedly. The elevator showed up, doors sliding open lazily and allowing the tenants to file inside before it shuddered back into gear, heading down to Earth.

"Seatbelt," Elsa reminded Anna once they piled into the car.

"Oh, right!" Anna nodded, clicking it into place. "Sorry."

And off the drove to the bus stop. Anna leaned over, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, kissing Elsa gently.

"I love, love you," Anna mumbled against Elsa's lips.

"I love you, too," Elsa grinned.

"Pfft, I doubled it so I win."

"I wasn't aware we were playing a game."

"Too late. Ha." Anna kissed her again before jumping out of the car, waving Elsa goodbye.

She plopped herself on the bus station seat as she waited, Elsa's car zipping off down the street. Once the bus showed up, Anna clambered in and took her seat by the window, resting her bag in her lap. It slowed to a stop a few stations later and in climbed Merida, swearing as she always did, before sinking in the seat beside Anna. She opened her mouth but Anna said it for her.

"Fuck the rain," she said smartly.

Merida chortled and nodded. "Fuck it. And the streets are boggin with the smell 'a raw sewage. 'S like I'm in New York."

"It's the rain being a dick," Anna gigged. "It'll go away soon."

"It better," Merida pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "I cannae stand it any longer or I'll cut ma nose aff."

The bus came to a halt near the campus as the girls jumped off, strolling to their first classes of the day, parting ways while promising to meet up for lunch before Art History class.

And most of them were dull. Anna's professor droned on and on while she tacked notes on her laptop. Sometimes she fell asleep on her hand, others she just dicked around on Facebook while she waited for the lecture to be over. Luckily she sat in the back row so nobody really bothered her while she did her own thing.

While on Facebook in her Religions of other Cultures class, she found that Elsa was online. She started up a chat gleefully.

Anna: _hiya!_

Elsa: _Heya. Aren't you in class?_

Anna: _…maybe…_

Elsa: _Pay attention, you dork :p_

Anna: _i don't feel like it i need to drop this class asap_

Elsa: _Whatever. But don't blame me for your shit grade._

Anna: _ill be fineeeeeeeee_

Elsa: _Uh-huh. I have to take photos of this family appointment. Talk to you after work._

Anna: _okay :(_

Elsa: _I love you, silly._

Anna: _love u too!_

**Elsa Andersen has logged off.**

Anna glanced up at the clock and heard the sound of chairs scraping. Her class had been dismissed. That could only mean one thing:

Lunch time!

She shut off her computer and stuffed it in her bag before skipping down the steps of the lecture hall and heading outside. She and Merida were meeting their friends Megara and Giselle for lunch in the Southside Café. Anna found Merida waiting for her by their usual oak tree before heading over. They were shown to a table were Meg was already seated, her slender figure cocked with attitude, her hair hanging in her face.

"I was wondering when you two would finally show up," she snapped at them with a smirk. "I already ordered our usual pizza… and some coffee, of course." She gestured to the delivered order that was splayed out on the table.

"I got stuck in ma last class," Merida said, sitting beside Meg and crossing her arms over the table. "'S Anna who slowed me doon."

"Hey! I'm sorry that my professor dismissed us later than usual," Anna said defensively, across from Merida. "Besides, Giselle isn't back yet so… so there!"

"What a brilliant argument," Meg drawled with a roll of her eyes.

"Huddy," Merida laughed.

"Shut up," Anna whined.

Meg chuckled under her breath. The doors swung open and in walked Giselle, her strawberry blonde hair falling down her shoulders as she tripped over to the table. She sunk into the seat with a long sigh before giving them her brilliant princess smile.

"Afternoon, all!" she sang.

"Hiya!" Anna chimed.

"Hullo," Merida greeted.

"'Sup," Meg nodded.

"Sorry I'm late. I just got off the phone with Robert," Giselle said with a dreamy smile, leaning her chin between her fists, elbows propped on the table. "He and Morgan are going to fly me out to New York for Christmas."

"Awh how sweet," Anna cooed. "You two are so perfect together!"

"So Edward is completely out of the question," Meg finalized.

"Well, he has Nancy now," Giselle reminded her. "But we're still very good friends. We hang out all the time."

"_Sexualtension_," Meg coughed horribly into her fist, making Merida snort into her coffee.

Anna sent Meg a disapproving look and Giselle dissolved slowly, staring at her slice of pizza with a frown.

"Lighten up," Meg sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "I didn't mean it."

Giselle glanced up into Meg's apologetic smile… something that was rarely seen on the Greek girl. It was a once in a lifetime thing to see so Giselle took it as sincere, nodding her head slowly in forgiveness.

"Speaking of sex, however," Meg began, her favorite topic spicing up her eyes. "Anna— how are you and Elsa?"

"Why the hell did sex remind you of my relationship with Elsa?" Anna asked incredulously.

"Because you guys look like you have a good sex life," Meg said with a placid shrug. "I can see it in your eyes."

Anna knit her brows together. "Uhm… we're good. Elsa'a making some life choices in her work right now."

"I see. And Merida, dear," Meg grinned, eyeing the Scottish girl mischievously.

"Don' even start." Merida growled, her teeth sinking into her pizza. "Or I'll wallap ya so hard your 'Wonderboy' won't be able to bend ya inta shape."

"All right, don't get so touchy," Meg sneered, her long fingernails tapping her mug with tiny _clinking_ sounds.

After lunch, she and Merida headed into their Art History class, greeted with the usual sound of coughing from their wheezy old professor. They took their seats in the back corner and pulled out their laptops, ready to take what notes he could spit out past his handkerchief. As the last class of the day ticked away slowly, Anna kneaded her fingers into her scalp with agony.

_Fuck why am I here_, she thought, desperately eyeing the clock.

"… Miss Christensen!" the professor suddenly barked from down below, snapping Anna out of her thoughts of returning home, kissing and cuddling Elsa (and maybe work in some random middle-of-the-week-lovemaking).

"Yessir," Anna perked up at once, her fingers lingering over her keyboard.

"Can you tell me who painted this— _cough_— picture" He clicked his little remote and the slideshow he had produced switched to _The Last Supper_.

"Ah… da Vinci?" Anna answered tentatively.

"Correct. Now, as we were discussing last week, Leonardo da Vinci was not only an artist but an inventor… This week we will be examining his works of art to see— _coughcough_— his influences and so on…"

Anna spaced out.

After class, she and Merida took the bus back to the city and went their separate ways. Merida to her house and Anna to work.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Anna waved.

"See ya!" Merida agreed before pounding down the sidewalk and vanishing into the thin Seattle crowd.

Anna walked to her job and entered the Starbucks right on time. She changed into her work uniform before standing at her station at the cash register, saying hello to her co-worker Jim Hawkins cheerfully.

And after work, Anna made two fraps before she left the shop, the smell of coffee following her to the bus and back home. When she entered, she found Olaf curled up in a ball in the armchair. He didn't bother to greet her, too busy in his dreamland of tuna and mice. Anna smiled and stuffed Elsa's frap into the fridge, sipping on her own as she kicked off her wet shoes.

She paused her drinking and gathered what she needed for dinner that night. Angel hair pasta wasn't too hard to make so she could prepare it when Elsa got home.

_Time to study!_ Anna thought. She rested her frap onto the kitchen table and collected her assignments from her bag, spreading them out before her, watching her drink carefully in case it would topple onto her textbooks.

An hour ticked away and Olaf finally woke up. He saw Anna sitting at the table and _not paying attention to him_. He meowed angrily and skirted off the armchair, slinking up onto the kitchen table, and prancing across Anna's handwritten notes.

"Olaf!" Anna complained. "Hey, man, I'm studying!"

All he did was meow in return, sitting his rump on the pages with an air of arrogance.

"Listen here, you little shit—" Anna began playfully, poking her cat in his nose.

"I'm home!" came Elsa's voice as she opened the door. "Anna?"

"Elsa!" Anna cheered, leaping out of her seat to greet her girlfriend. They shared a brief kiss before Anna helped her out of her peacoat. "Welcome home, Els. I have a carmel frap waiting for you in the fridge."

"That sounds perfect," Elsa grinned. She pressed a kiss against Anna's forehead before heading to the kitchen. "Thank you, Baby… oh… hey, Olaf." She snickered at the cat, cementing himself on Anna's textbook.

"He's an ass," Anna mumbled, picking Olaf up. He mewed in protest as she tossed him unceremoniously onto the couch. He lifted his tail up in the air before plopping himself in the corner of the couch, as if it had been _his_ idea to remove himself from the books.

"What's for dinner tonight?" Elsa asked, eyeing the dry noodles on the counter.

"Pasta," Anna said, sitting back into her seat to finish a piece of homework. "It's really easy to make so I haven't put it on yet."

"That's fine," Elsa said, retrieving her drink and sipping it. "Mm, you put some chocolate in this, didn't you?"

"Just a dash. Otherwise it's the original recipe," Anna giggled. "Ooh, hey, I was thinking… did you have an important meeting tomorrow or client or whatever?"

"Why?"

"Well on Tuesdays I have afternoon classes only so… I was thinking we could have some extra fun tonight…"

"I'll consider it."

Anna groaned sarcastically. "So formal!"

"I have to look at my schedule for tomorrow," Elsa said apologetically. "It sounds enticing, really it does, but it all depends."

Anna huffed in her seat. "Whatevvver." She sat forward and picked up her pencil. "I'll get dinner started in a bit. I have to finish this."

"All right," Elsa said, stifling a yawn. "I think I might nap."

"Are you a forty-year-old?" Anna teased.

"Everyone likes a nap after a long day, Anna," Elsa shot back with a smile. She kissed her quickly. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Of course," Anna breathed.

Anna woke Elsa up thirty minutes later with the promise of pasta and Coke. The two girls sat at the coffee table, watching reruns of Doctor Who on Netflix, Anna still in love with David Tennant, grinning over her bowl of pasta. In between an episode, Elsa and Anna washed the dishes together, which was where Anna brought up the question of spontaneous Monday sex.

"Anything on the schedule?" she said, bumping Elsa's hip with hers.

"Nope," Elsa replied, a smile curling across her lips.

"Ooh, good!" Anna laughed. "Well, are you still up for it?"

"Absolutely," Elsa agreed, winking at Anna from over her glasses.

A pleasant chill shimmied down Anna's spine and warmth pooled across her face and in her abdomen.

"Gosh, Elsa," Anna said, her voice husky. "I…"

"You'll have to wait," Elsa said placidly, returning to the dishes.

Anna pouted and dried what was handed to her, the ache between her thighs begging her for release. Preferably by the woman beside her.

"Elsa," Anna whispered. "You're a tease."

Elsa smirked heavily. "Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh," Anna said, putting the last plate in the drying rack. "And you're trying to make me wait for this."

"I have no idea what you're talking—"

Anna couldn't take it anymore and yanked Elsa down, kissing her deeply. Elsa tried not to laugh into the kiss, allowing Anna to jump up and wrap her legs around her waist.

"Glasses," Anna reminded thickly.

"Right," Elsa breathed, removing the spectacles before kissing her again. "Tell me if I bump into anything." She started moving backwards, Anna in her arms.

"How?" Anna mumbled against her lips. "I'm not paying attention."

Elsa rolled her eyes and felt her way to the bedroom, Anna's lips attacking her neck instead. Several hisses were drawn from the blonde.

"Anna…" she ground out.

"Lights off," Anna said, her breath tickling Elsa's skin. "'I'll make my heaven in a lady's lap.'"

"Ooh, good one," Elsa said with a throaty laugh.

Kiss.

"Thanks," Anna replied gruffly.

Clumsily, Elsa's hand reached the switch and flicked the bedroom lights off, the two of them stumbling— giggling— onto the bed behind them.

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Thursday, 13 November 2014  
__The Time: 5:34 PM  
__The Weather: Cloudy_

Anna was glued to her seat, making her avatar run across the screen and high-jack a car. Kristoff and Eugene were laughing again, chasing poor Anna through Los Santos.

"You guys suck!" Anna shouted into her headset.

"Why are you running then?" Eugene taunted.

"Because I don't want to kill you so easily," Anna shot back. "Fucking dicks… I should run your asses over."

Elsa was watching Anna play, occasionally glancing up from her phone and numerous texts from her older brother. As usual, Anna was a potty-mouthed and rather violent player as she bickered back and forth with her friends. It was rather very funny to witness when one watched long enough.

When the three worked as a team, then they were unstoppable in taking Los Santos by storm. All the other players would 'bitch and moan'— as Anna put it— when they'd get the highest scores in missions. But when it was one-on-one, or two against one, like it was at the moment, then it was an entirely different ballgame. Anna and Eugene would sometimes team up and hunt down Kristoff or Anna would be with him and they'd chase Eugene around. Now it was the two boys snuffing out the redhead as she skirted anxiously through the virtual city spread out across the screen.

"Maybe you should hide," Elsa suggested lamely.

"No… that would be cowardly," Anna said, squinting at the television.

"Oh, well _excuse_ me," Elsa quipped with a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that," Anna laughed. "…Shut up, Kristoff, I'm talking to Elsa again… you guys obviously don't seem to grasp the concept that I _live with her_… oh, fuck you, Eugene, you're gonna get tied down to my cousin in three months."

"You say it like it's a bag thing," Elsa said, her eyes dropping down to her phone.

"It's not!" Anna said defensively. "Not at all! He's just making stupid comments… yes, you are!"

"Hide, you idiot!" Elsa said, pointing to an alleyway.

"They can find me in there!" Anna said, flailing her remote around dramatically. "Kristoff, what goes through that head of yours she's talking about an _alleyway_!"

Elsa rested a hand over her eyes. "I can only imagine what he just said."

"He said—"

"La, la, la! I don't wanna know!" Elsa shouted, clamping her ears shut. "Stop it, stop it!"

Anna cracked up. "Sorry!"

"Ugh…" Elsa dropped her hands to her sides and chewed on her lip. "Exhausting. You're exhausting when you play this game."

"Yet you love me still," Anna reminded her.

"I do," Elsa said with a wry smile.

There was a tiny throbbing in the right side of Elsa's temple, becoming rather distracting. Her stomach was churning unpleasantly and the room was tipping to one side every time she blinked. She took each blink rather slow, breathing through her nose. Anna side glanced at her with concern.

"H-hold on," Anna said into the mic.

"What? Why?" Kristoff demanded.

"Just… gimme a second," Anna said, removing her headset and rested it on the coffee table beside her remote. "Elsa? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Elsa grunted. "Headache."

Anna scooted over and wrapped an arm around Elsa's shoulders, pressing her lips to the pain in Elsa's head.

"You need some water, Snowbug?" Anna whispered against the ache.

"That would be heavenly," Elsa agreed thankfully.

As Anna stood up, she continued to talk to Elsa calmly. "You're getting symptoms again, aren't you. Insomnia… are you feeling nauseous?"

"A little…"

"This isn't good. Elsa, maybe we should do something more than just wait for things to get worse," Anna suggested.

"It's most likely nothing. I've been feeling a little sick, too. No biggie."

"No biggie?" Anna sent her a look as she filled a glass. "Elsa, anxiety isn't—"

"I _know_," Elsa said sharply. "Anna, let me figure this out, all right?"

The redhead sighed and handed Elsa the glass as she sat back down.

"I really shouldn't but… you're stubborn," Anna said with a dry chuckle. "Fine, then."

Elsa took a long drink as Anna started to play the game again, resuming her swearing and violent thrashing of her remote.

_Deal with it… figure it out_, Elsa told herself. _Fight through this. If not for yourself…_

She opened her eyes and glanced at Anna.

_Don't start again_, Elsa thought, squeezing her eyes shut. _Not this again_.

"Elsa?" Anna spoke up quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I love you, okay?"

Elsa smiled into her glass, her breathing at an even pace again. "I love you, too."

* * *

**See you next time!**


	4. Fighter

**Good morning/afternoon/evening. Wherever you are.**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN**

* * *

_The Place: Garfield High School  
__The Date: Friday, 2007  
__The Time: 12:34 PM  
__The Weather: Drizzling_

Elsa was sitting in her usual spot in the back of the library working at her own table in the corner. The area was covered with open textbooks and scratch paper. Her left hand was smeared with graphite from her recent stack of Trigonometry homework but she wasn't paying much attention to it.

She liked her table. It was the one place in school she could be alone. It was an isolated sanctuary, it was true, but a sanctuary nevertheless. A place where she could read, finish her homework, and even sleep if she felt the need to. The librarian, Mrs. Madge, allowed Elsa to remain inside the library even when she was closed because she knew that the blonde was uncomfortable around others. They bonded over Mrs. Madge's kindness so Elsa felt very at home amongst the books and sounds of scratching pencils or pens across lined paper.

But sometimes life was funny and liked to push Elsa around, laughing at her misery or confusion. And today was one of those days. Not only was she almost late to her first period, but she tripped up the stairs on the way to Physics, dribbled water all over her front during nutrition break, and bumped into her most frequent tormenter, Aurora, as she had made her way to her locker, causing the bully to drop her books on the floor. After getting screamed at and called names, Elsa had retreated to her spot the library for her safe haven, burying herself in the pile of peaceful Trigonometry assignments to feel safe once again.

She had been so engrossed with her work she didn't hear the soft patter of feet on the carpeted floor. Nor did she hear the gentle scrape of the legs of the chair beside her. But she _did_ feel a presence after a good two minutes. She took notice when her Government textbook was shifted slightly to the left. Elsa raised her eyes slowly and side-glanced to her right to see Anna hovering over her own homework, not paying Elsa any mind.

The blonde blinked, aghast. Not even a simple 'hello' or 'may I sit with you?' Nope, Anna just plopped herself next to the senior, as if she had occupied the seat for eons.

"Uh…" was the noise that escaped from Elsa's throat.

"Hi," Anna said, glancing at Elsa in return. "You looked lonely."

Elsa blinked again, still struck dumb.

"And I wanted to apologize," Anna said quietly, looking back at her Geometry assignment. "Apologize for the other day. I know you acted like nothing happened but I obviously did something that bugged you. So, I'm sorry." She looked back at Elsa with a soft smile. "I hope you can forgive me, Elsa."

"I… Anna, of course," Elsa said. "It wasn't such a big deal, really. I overreacted. I do that a lot."

Anna grinned. "That's cool. So do I."

Elsa found herself smiling back before letting her eyes drop back onto her paper. "Are you practicing?"

"Oh, the song?" Anna said, raising her eyebrows as she scribbled in her answers. "Yeah, don't worry. I know the song like the back of my hand."

"Hm. Good," Elsa approved.

There was a short pause as the girls worked mindlessly on their assignments. The occasional sound of a page being flipped or clearing of throats would break the silence between them.

"Why d'you sit here all alone?" Anna finally asked.

"Oh… uh…" Elsa gnawed on her bottom lip. "I'm not a fan of certain company… I don't have too many friends, see."

"You… don't?" Anna said.

She sounded so surprised, as if it was the oddest thing in the world that this perfect looking girl was without people to hang out with.

"No," Elsa said indifferently. "I'm not a very popular girl. Besides, lunches for me are usually my time to do homework before I get home." She sat up in her seat and turned towards Anna. "Speaking of, why aren't you hanging out with your friends?"

"What makes you think I have friends?" Anna said.

Elsa snorted wryly. "Anna, you're the most social girl I think I've ever met so I have a pretty good hunch you have friends."

"Well, they're all at our spot," Anna said, leaning back into her seat, rolling her head on her shoulders to get rid of an aching muscle in between her shoulder blades. "My cousin is talking nonstop about her boyfriend and my buddy Kristoff, I think he's in your grade, is absent today. Merida has a club meeting and…" She trailed off and sighed. "But it doesn't really matter. Besides, I'd like to keep you company, if you don't mind."

"Why?"

"Huh?"

Elsa was so fed up with this odd behavior out of a person she hardly knew. Why was Anna being so kind? Did she pity her? Did she lose a bet? Elsa would rather be rejected now than played with.

Anna, on the other hand, was bewildered that Elsa was questioning her kindness. All she wanted to do was be a good friend. They were friends, right?

"Because we're friends, silly," Anna said, voicing her thoughts. "Aren't we? I mean, we're at least distant friends but I'd like to get to know you… Elsa, I don't know what's going through that big brain of yours but you're over thinking my kindness." She sent Elsa a genuine smile. "Can't we be friends? I'd like to be…"

"With me?"

"Well, duh!" Anna laughed. "You should sit with us at lunch sometime. I'm positive my friends would love you."

Elsa let out a surprised and dry laugh. "You're funny, Anna."

"No, I'm serious! Elsa, I think you give yourself too little credit. You're an awesome person— I can tell already— so you'd fit right in with my group." Anna grinned goofily, making Elsa's heart skip a beat. "So, come Monday, you're gonna start sitting with me and my friends, who will quickly turn into yours, too. If you don't, I'll hunt you down and drag you over to us."

Elsa felt her cheeks color and she side glanced shyly down at the floor, crossing her arms over her chest. There was a fleeting feeling in her chest that was a pleasant ache whenever she spared a gaze at the freshman, who had returned to her homework, that made Elsa both smile and sweat. She was getting herself into something that probably wasn't going to work out.

All she knew that her newest crush was Anna Christensen.

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Friday, 14 November 2014  
__The Time: 7:06 PM  
__The Weather: Rainy_

Anna was lounging on the couch, holding a textbook for one of her classes above her so she could read while lying on her back. Her brow was furrowed with concentration, Olaf curled up on her stomach, his tail twitching every so often. Elsa was pacing in front of the oven, waiting for the water for tea to heat up. She was gnawing on her thumbnail, feeling incredibly antsy and jumpy. All she wanted was her tea so she could sit on the windowsill and read her book. Just to get rid of this awful sensation of nervousness.

"Elsa… how do you pronounce Monet?" Anna asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Like, okay— some people pronounce it Man-eh, right? Then there's people, like me, who pronounce it Moan-eh. Others, but very few, pronounce it Moan-et… otherwise… uh, which one is the correct one?"

"I really depends. I don't know, Anna. Either one."

"But Man-eh is so weird sounding!" She slammed her book shut and rested it on the coffee table before staring up at the ceiling with a pout on her face. Olaf, startled by the abrupt and muffled boom of the textbook, jumped, sent Anna a reproachful look, and leapt off her stomach, trotting to the girls' bedroom for a nap instead.

Elsa rolled her eyes in a not-so-kind way and continued on with her pacing. She was getting irritable— not really towards Anna. More so towards herself, telling herself not to let the swallowing nervousness get the best—

_No… oh, no._

She felt pressure over her heart and she broke out into a sweat suddenly. Her eyes widened, her hands began to shake, her mouth went dry, and the room began to spin. Elsa started to panic, and she gripped the counter edge with one hand, the other clutching her chest as she wheezed. Tears of pain built up and she let out a strangled cry.

_Fuckfuckfuck!_

"Elsa?" Anna said, sitting up on the couch. She noticed the trembling shoulders on her girlfriend and knew what was going on at once. She leapt to her feet, rushing over to the blonde. "Elsa!"

She grabbed Elsa by the shoulders and forced her to face her. Elsa continued to wheeze, her stomach turning in knots. She started to hyperventilate, clawing desperately to Anna's arms for some source of comfort.

"Make… make it stop!" Elsa begged, tears slipping down her cheeks as unexplainable fear overtook her.

"Okay, okay, just look at me. Elsa, look at me," Anna said with gentle commandment. "Baby, look. I'm right here. Right here…"

"You're not leaving me, are you?" Elsa suddenly asked.

Anna didn't quite know what that meant but she shook her head. "No, no! Of course not. Elsa, just look at me. I'm here for you."

"I promise I'll be better!" Elsa wailed.

"You're perfect already," Anna assured.

"I'm sorry I'm such a fuck up!"

"You're _not_ a fuck up."

"How would you know?"

"Because I don't fall in love with fuck ups," Anna tried good-naturedly with the tiniest chuckle. "Elsa, stop talking, okay? It's not doing you any good. Just look at me. Look— ah, there we go!" Elsa's glossy eyes finally met Anna's and the redhead smiled softly. "Now, take deep breaths. In…. and out. Good, good. And again. In… and… out. There, see? Keep that pace."

With shaky breaths, Elsa fought through her panic attack, still quaking and letting out the occasional hiccup. Each inhale was sharp and each exhale was a shudder but she tried her hardest. As soon as the shaking came to a stand still and she felt the weight over her heart dissipate, she broke down and hugged Anna close, feeling helpless and pathetic.

"I-I-I… oh, g-g-god!" Elsa groaned into Anna's shoulder. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"There's nothin' to apologize for," Anna said, rubbing circles in Elsa's back. "Hey, hey… it's okay, Elsa."

"N-n-no it's not," Elsa cried.

"You're a fighter," Anna told her. "These things rise unexpectedly."

"Nothing t-t-triggered it, really," Elsa complained, tightening her hold on her girlfriend.

"It doesn't need one, remember? Spontaneous happening, Els, and pent up anxiety… you've been under stress 'cause of Edna and the career choices. I'm sure there's a lot more in there that you're not letting through. We should call Doctor Pabbie. You need to start your sessions again—"

"No!" Elsa wailed, wriggling away from Anna, as if the embrace had burned her. She hugged her arms to her chest, fear wild in her icy eyes. "I-I-I can't go back there. It means I'm l-l-losing!"

"You're _fighting_," Anna insisted. "Elsa, this is coming back more and more and you've got to get to the bottom of this. Look at you! You're still in a panic! It's okay to admit defeat to a battle but you're gonna win the war because you're _fighting_. I know that it may seem hard right now but it's nothing to be ashamed of." She drew herself up as tall as she could and raised a brow. "Now, tell me: what are you?"

"What?"

"What are you? Then you say: a fighter! Loud and clear and strong!"

"A-Anna…"

"What are you, Elsa!?"

"…A f-fighter."

"Stronger, Baby! What are you!?"

"A _f-fighter!_"

"What are you!?"

"_A fighter!_"

"Fuck yeah, you are!" Anna cheered, thrusting a fist in the air. "You're a fighter, Elsa! And you're gonna beat down this anxiety like it's nobody's business. It's not easy— believe me, it's a long road ahead but you've gotten so far. With help and confidence from those who love you…" Anna reached over and took Elsa's hands in her own. "You can get through this. I know you can. I believe you can." She cupped Elsa's face and brushed away the tears that had fallen. "And I will be with you every step of the way. I promise."

Elsa smiled, her breathing returning to a normal pace.

"There we go. That's my girl," Anna giggled, pulling Elsa into a warm hug. "See, you're good. You're gonna be okay."

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa whispered.

"Not a problem, Elsa," Anna said, kissing her cheek. "I'm always here for you."

"…I think I need to go back to Pabbie," Elsa mumbled.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Anna promised. "I'll set up an appointment for you and everything is gonna work out fine." They pulled back but kept each other at arms length. Anna brushed that one strand of hair out of Elsa's face with a loving smile. "It's my job to make sure you're all right. Now… finish the tea and we'll sit down and listen to some music. Calming music. Okay? Then a nap."

"I thought you didn't like naps."

"Eh, they're all right every once in a while." Anna winked at her. "You're tense and you need to relax." She kissed her quickly. "I'll be right back. I promise."

Anna went over to the coffee table and picked up her phone, dialing Pabbie's number before pressing it to her ear. "Hello? Yes, this is Anna Christensen… Hiya, Doc! I'm good and you…? That's great. Oh— No, this isn't about me. Elsa's anxiety is coming back so we just… yeah, she had another attack and we both agree that she needs therapy again to find the source and see if we can't kick it to the curb this time… No, I know it's not easy and I told her that… yes, I've been giving her love and support." Anna laughed. "No need to worry about that. We just want to make sure things can be fixed before something drastic… Sunday? Sounds great. I'll get her there… Thank you!" She hung up and placed her phone on the table again.

"Tea's ready," Elsa called distantly from the kitchen.

"Come over here," Anna coaxed as she set up Elsa's iPod in their speakers by the TV. "Take a seat and relax."

Elsa shuffled over and sank into the couch, sipping her tea delicately. Anna pressed play and classical music flowed around them. The ginger bounded over and plopped down beside Elsa, who was still shaking slightly from her panic attack.

"There we go," Anna approved, encircling Elsa's shoulders with her arm. "You're gonna be okay."

"I know," Elsa said. "Thank you."

"Anytime, my love," Anna said, kissing Elsa's cheek. "Just rest yourself."

"I'm trying."

"You'll be okay…"

They fell silent as Elsa relaxed slowly until her mug was drained. The music was filling the room gently, the blonde running her hand through her hair as she placed the cup on the coffee table. Her eyes were getting droopy and the idea of a nap didn't sound so bad. Anna sent her a sleepy smile and beckoned Elsa into an embrace.

"C'mere," Anna yawned.

Elsa scooted over and snuggled against Anna's side, breathing in the familiar scent. They leaned back into the cushions and slid their eyes shut, drifting off together.

* * *

_The Place: Pabbie's Office, Suite 406  
__The Date: Sunday, 16 November 2014  
__The Time: 3:12 PM  
__The Weather: Partly Cloudy_

"Here we are," Anna said as they entered the waiting room.

"Yup," Elsa said quietly, her hands in her pockets.

Anna walked over to a switch on the wall and flicked it up, a red light sparking above it, indicating that Pabbie had a client waiting. Pabbie was Kristoff's grandfather and was an old family friend of Anna's as well. Anna had recommended him to Elsa a long time ago so he was their go-to guy for problems such as Elsa's anxiety.

"Remember, this is just to see where you stand," Anna reminded her. "Nothing to do with you losing. If he thinks you need more sessions, then you'll go. All right?"

Elsa nodded as she leaned against the wall. Anna sat on a dipping leather couch and cocked her head to the side.

"You're not gonna sit?" Anna inquired.

"I can't think straight and you think I'm gonna sit?" Elsa said.

Anna sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry."

The following night was usually their date night, with activities following closely afterward but Elsa had been rather snappish so they ended up dropping their plans altogether. They actually had a fight which led to Anna sleeping on the couch, tears in her eyes. Elsa was in the bed, grimacing down at the bedsheets as she sat cross-legged, leaning against the headboard. They had been silent at breakfast that morning, hardly sparing each other glances over their meals. Even secret ones were naught.

So their tension of the previous night's argument was heavy on them both as they waited for Pabbie to collect Elsa from the room. The only sound breaking the barrier was that of the clock hanging on the wall above Elsa's head. There were a couple of beats before Elsa spoke up again, a wry smile on her face.

"'Madness in great ones must not unwatched go,'" she recited.

Anna smiled. "Indeed. Good use of that one."

"I reread Hamlet last night," Elsa explained. "Since I couldn't sleep, I checked out our Shakespeare collection…" She sighed. "Anyway… Anna, before I go in there— I wanted to say I'm sorry."

Anna got to her feet and approached Elsa.

"It's okay. I'm sorry, too."

Instinctively, they took each other's hands and leaned their foreheads together, closing their eyes and basking in the comfort of one another.

"I love you, Anna," Elsa whispered. "I don't want you to forget that."

"I love you, too, silly," Anna giggled. "I'll never forget it for as long as I live."

"Good… and hey, maybe tonight we can make up for what we couldn't do last night."

A pleasant chill jolted down Anna's spine and almost jumpstarted onto Elsa's skin as they both anticipated the coming evening. There was a silent agreement they would make up for what was lost.

She couldn't help herself— Anna reached up and kissed Elsa tenderly, Elsa kissing her back hungrily. Perhaps it wasn't the most appropriate place to try to apologize in such a way but it was what they wanted. The car ride had been bad enough, the radio blasting out the same big hit single every five minutes and the two not looking at one another. But it was just them in the waiting room so disturbing other people wasn't an issue.

They only broke away when there was a heavy clearing of a throat from the doorway. They whipped their heads, breathing hard, towards the source and saw Pabbie standing there with an amused smile on his face.

"Should I come back later? We could reschedule…" he said with a chuckle.

Anna stepped back and rubbed away the lipgloss from her bottom lip, Elsa standing straight and running a hand through her hair. They were both a brilliant shade of red as Pabbie laughed lightly.

"All right. Elsa, let's begin, yes?" he said, stepping aside so she could pass through.

Elsa nodded and walked forward, sending Anna a wave over her shoulder. Anna smiled as the door shut before sitting down on the couch again.

They entered his office and Pabbie invited her to sit down on the leather couch— which was more intact than the one out in the waiting room— and he sat in a chair across from her. Elsa absorbed what was in the room: a bookshelf full of trinkets and certificates and, of course, books. A closet that held toys and games for his younger clients, his desk— pushed up in the corner of the office— full of photos and his computer. The rug beneath her feet was the same since her previous visit when she was a junior in college.

"How have you been doing, Elsa?" Pabbie asked conversationally.

"Like… as a person or as my disorder?" Elsa said.

"Let's not call it that," he chided softly. "Let's just call it your… your nemesis." Elsa snorted and Pabbie leaned back into his seat with a confident smile. "But I meant as a person."

"Oh, fine, I guess," she shrugged. "I mean… I'm just going through life wherever it takes me. Making career choices, going out with friends… the usual, I suppose."

"I see. And you and Anna seem to be getting along fine as I saw before we came in."

"Ha, yeah. Sorry about that. We had a fight last night and we were— uh, making amends."

"What did you fight about?"

"It was my fault. See, Saturdays are usually our date nights but I was feeling cranky so we fought over something stupid and… yeah." She fiddled with her fingers as she talked.

"Anna told me you had a panic attack."

Elsa nodded, suddenly feeling ashamed.

"This was a spontaneous attack, I presume?"

"I was feeling pretty terrified beforehand."

"That's normal…" Pabbie said, writing something down on his notepad. "Now, tell me, Elsa… tell me about why you've been feeling this fear. What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that… that this, ah, nemesis of mine is going to be the cause of something… something awful."

"What is that something?"

"It has to do with Anna…"

"Yes?"

"That she'll leave me."

"What makes you think that?"

"I'm… I'm no good for her."

"You believe such a silly thing?"

"Pabbie, do you really think that I'm kidding?"

"I think you're not seeing what Anna sees."

"What does she see, then? A great gangling moron?"

"No. I think she sees a beautiful person inside and out. How do you see yourself, Elsa? That's the root we're trying to get to."

"I see myself as someone who needs to get a grip on life and fit in with society."

"You sound like you're back in high school."

"It's continued to be true for years."

"You've been burying these feelings deep for a while now, haven't you?"

She nodded.

"I don't think _anyone_ believes that's true."

"Are you kidding!?" Elsa shot to her feet and started to pace as she continued on. "I mean, look at me! I'm a socially awkward freak who is fighting this _disorder_ because I've been beaten down so many times over!"

"But that's all in the past," Pabbie reminded her.

"I can't just throw it all away and say that the past is in the past!" Elsa exclaimed. "Because it haunts me. It's still in my dreams and they always end with me being _alone_. Anna won't possibly stick around forever… I'm a mess."

"You're just… as my family would put it, a bit of a fixer upper," he supplied. "Everyone is. All it takes is hard work and love and the next thing you know, you're just the way you want to be."

Elsa paused in front of the couch and stared down at the rug. It was a mossy green that reminded her of a swamp. She glanced up at Pabbie, who was smiling at her from over his half-moon spectacles. Then she felt relaxed, sinking back into the couch and resting her hands on her knees.

"Sorry that I got out of hand so quickly," Elsa apologized.

"Think nothing of it," Pabbie said. "You're a little high-strung at the moment. Let's talk about something else, hm? How's your family?"

"Oh, they're great," Elsa said, thankful for the distraction. "Mother and Father are coming back from New York this weekend… I think my grandmother has an event at the end of the month which I'm sure I'll be forced to attend. My brother and his girlfriend are looking for houses sometime this month after she finishes her final year of dental school."

"That's wonderful to hear… how's Kristoff. Have you seen him recently?"

"Oh, yes. We all had brunch together a few days ago… uh, he's still giving Anna a hard time over video games."

Pabbie chuckled. "As he should. And Anna— How is she doing with her studies?"

"They're going well but she's been going out more often than usual so she's been a bit distracted."

"Well, as long as she's getting work done, right?"

Elsa nodded. "Yes."

Their session ended a few minutes later and Elsa emerged into the waiting room, shutting the door behind her with a soft _click_. Anna was sitting on the couch still, reading an outdated magazine. She looked up from the reading material and smiled at her girlfriend.

"How'd it go?" Anna asked.

"Sunday sessions from now on," Elsa informed her, striding over to Anna as the redhead stood up. "Same time."

"Good," Anna approved. She grabbed Elsa's hand as they left the room, walking down the hall, their footsteps muffled by the carpet beneath them. "You're gonna need all the help you can get. In a good way, I mean."

Elsa paused and stopped Anna in her tracks. The younger girl raised an eyebrow at her, cocking her head to one side.

"What's up?" she inquired.

Elsa removed her hand from Anna's and wrapped her arm around Anna's shoulders instead. Anna responded by gripping Elsa's waist, grinning up at the blonde.

"Nothing," Elsa said simply as they struck up their walk once again. "I just wanted to be closer to you."

Anna laughed. "You're a cutie."

* * *

_The Place: Garfield High School  
__The Date: Monday, 2007  
__The Time: 12:20 PM  
__The Weather: Cloudy_

"There you are!"

Elsa's eyes widened as she tried to rush away from the redhead that pursued her. Her books were tight against her chest, her long legs carrying her down the hallway. But Anna was fast, picking up speed before she grabbed Elsa by the arm, yanking her back and causing her to drop all her books.

"You're trying to run away from me when I told you I'd hunt you down!" Anna chided, stooping over to pick up Elsa's books. "You're coming with me for lunch."

"Anna, please," Elsa begged, attempting to yank her books away from the freshman but to no avail— Anna held them away from her. "I don't fit in with your friends."

"How do you know that?" Anna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not… like you," Elsa tried, her voice straining against her will to remain calm. People in the halls were watching with interest. Someone was actually speaking with the school freak Elsa Andersen.

"I reiterate, you do you _know_?" Anna said.

"…Because," Elsa said helplessly.

"That's not a reason. And in any case, I'm not giving your books back so you might as well tag along if you want them," Anna said with determination, turning on her heel and bouncing off towards the stairs.

Elsa watched her crush go, wondering how in the world she managed to like such a firecracker, and most likely someone who was both out of her league and probably not a lesbian. Groaning to herself, she followed Anna begrudgingly. She knew she wasn't going to fit in with Anna's friends. No doubt they would all be popular girls from the cheer squad and hunky football players that were most likely the type of guy Anna went for. It wouldn't surprise Elsa in the slightest that this freshman was already quite the socialite.

But what _did_ surprise her when Anna led her to a spot tucked away on the top floor beside a window, looking out at the suburb that surrounded the school, rather than a table in the cafeteria. A small group of people sat in the nook, eating lunches and talking merrily. It consisted of four people, excluding Elsa and Anna. There was Rapunzel— Anna's cousin— who was a huge art student in Elsa's grade. Not the most popular girl in school but very well known. Then there was the football player Kristoff, someone Elsa was vaguely aware of, but he hardly ever went out and played. The coach usually benched him to send out Adam or Hercules in his place. So he wasn't very popular either.

Then there was Hans, a boy in Elsa's grade that she knew very well but didn't see much of him. He was the drum major in band and third basemen on the baseball team. He was also in Elsa's photo class, second best after her. Finally there was a fiery redheaded girl that Elsa had never seen before, which was odd because she had such a mane of hair, one would think they would spot her by now. She saw a duffle bag belonging to track and field resting behind her and deduced that was the sport she was in.

But they weren't the kind of people Elsa expected Anna to hang out with. They were misfits and, by a stereotypical high school standard, outcasts. Just like Elsa was. How did someone as bubbly and bouncy as Anna acquire such an odd bunch of buddies?

It didn't make sense to her!

"So!" Anna said, dumping Elsa's books beside her respective messenger bag. "Elsa, these are my friends. Rapunzel, Kristoff, Hans, and Merida. I think you know the first three, right? Good. Well, Merida is in my grade. We have a couple others that hang out with us but they come and go as they please. But this is our usual group." Anna sat down beside Merida and patted the linoleum floor next to her, inviting Elsa to sit.

"Ah… I don't think I—" Elsa tried but Anna raised an eyebrow at her expectantly.

"Do you want your books back or not?" Anna asked.

"Y-Yes, I do," Elsa sighed, defeated, and sank to the floor beside the freshman.

Pleased, Anna took out her bagged lunch and started shuffling through it. Kristoff and Hans were talking cheerfully to one another, continuing their conversation from before. Merida was slurping on a soda and Rapunzel was sketching in her sketchpad, tongue sticking out in concentration. Elsa remained awkwardly silent, nibbling on the chocolate bar she had managed to grab before she left home that morning. Anna grinned at Elsa and nudged her foot kindly with her own.

"You're welcome to hang out with us anytime you like," Anna promised. "Right, guys?" She inclined her head to her friends, who broke off their tasks and nodded.

Elsa almost felt a rush of appreciation. _Almost_. Instead, she felt a hesitant warmth of acceptance, hoping that this wasn't some kind of trick that Anna was pulling.

"What do you like to do for fun, Elsa?" Kristoff asked, smiling at her.

"Uh… read," Elsa responded shortly.

"Oh, yeah? What kind of books? I'm a fan of the classics myself," Kristoff chuckled.

"Shakespeare is my preferred," Elsa said quietly.

"Ooh, me too!" Anna chirped. "He's the greatest playwright ever lived!"

"I don' think much a' him," Merida said blandly.

_Ah. She's Scottish_, Elsa figured out.

"Why not?" Rapunzel asked, not looking up from her drawing.

"Too complicated," Merida reasoned. "For example: in moost a' his stories, ya gotta read the other page ta figure oot what he means!"

"Yeah, but that helps," Hans debated. "Then it's understandable and you know the inner context of the story."

"I think 's dumb," Merida shrugged, taking another swig of her soda.

"That's your opinion," Kristoff said.

"I never said ya had ta agree," Merida told him.

"Fair enough," Anna said with a laugh. "What's your favorite play, Elsa? I'm a big fan of _Midsummer_. My dad said I'm the female version of Puck, if there were any."

"You'd play that role perfectly," Rapunzel agreed, winking at Anna.

"Awh, thank you!" Anna giggled. "Elsa, what's yours?"

"…I suppose I'm a fan of _As You Like It_," Elsa said, adjusting her glasses.

"That's a good one," Hans approved.

"I actually saw a production of that a while back," Rapunzel said. "I really enjoyed it. The actors were spectacular and _so_ funny!"

"We should all go see those free showings at the community theatre some time," Anna suggested. "All of us! Elsa, you too. If you love Shakespeare then you'll love these guys. Merida, you like free things so this is, like, no big deal."

"I think Hamlet is coming to the theatre soon," Hans piped up.

"You'd want me to come?" Elsa voiced shyly.

"Of course!" Anna sang. "You're my friend, Elsa! Remember?"

Elsa stared at the optimistic freshman for a few stretched seconds before smiling back, feeling heat crawl up her neck.

Suddenly, Elsa didn't feel so alone.

* * *

**Good day/afternoon/night. Wherever you are.**

**See you next time!**


	5. Thanksgiving Families

**Special thanks to those who reviewed. Your input means a lot and I'm glad you're liking **_**Sun Kissed**_** so far. Keep reading and reviewing, my lovelies.**

**Disclaimer: Disney owns FROZEN**

* * *

_The Place: Apartment 2507  
__The Date: Wednesday, 26 November 2014  
__The Time: 6:09 PM  
__The Weather: Pouring_

Anna was sitting in Elsa's cross-legged lap, her shirt off and bra exposed, legs around Elsa's waist. Elsa's button down shirt was halfway undone, being shrugged off her shoulders as Anna clawed and dragged her nails across her girlfriend's pale back.

The blonde let out a throaty moan, panting, as Anna pulled away and went to entertain Elsa's neck, pressing her tongue against her throbbing pulse. Elsa moaned again, digging her fingers in Anna's bare, sun kissed back. She could feel her arousal spike with each scrape of the redhead's teeth across her neck, eyes rolling to the back of her head in ecstasy.

Just as Anna finally undid Elsa's shirt and tossed it to the side, her fingers trying to undo Elsa's jeans, an annoying and rather distracting buzzing noise interrupted them. They paused for a heartbeat, breathing heavily as they tried to see through the hazy clouds of enlivening. Anna looked up into Elsa's icy eyes and raised a brow.

"Vibrator?" she wondered.

"Not mine," Elsa said, shaking her head, her voice sultry. "Battery dead…"

"How often are you using it?" Anna inquired, leaning back with a pique of interest.

"Shut up," Elsa grumbled. "I think it's my phone." She twisted herself towards her side of the bed, spotting her iPhone spinning with each sharp vibrate it emitted on her bedside table. "Yeah."

"Fuck," Anna groaned, falling onto her back, her butt still in Elsa's lap. "It was just getting good."

Elsa sent her a smile. "Gimme a second, I need to take this."

Anna blew a raspberry, glaring up at the ceiling that was painted to look like clouds caught in a blue sky. The older girl leaned back, supporting herself by one hand while the other held up her phone to her ear.

"Heya," Elsa said into it. "Sorry it took me a bit."

"No, it's cool," replied the voice with a laugh. "Was I interrupting something? You sound hoarse."

"You were _so_ interrupting something!" Anna shouted at the caller.

Elsa swatted her girlfriend's knee with a roll of her eyes. "Sorta. What's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you're still willing to take me in for the three weeks until Toothiana and I can seal the deal on a place and until she comes home from her university."

"Yeah, we have the room. Anna and I would be happy to host you."

Anna let loose a rather dramatic growl that made Elsa smirk.

"Just make sure you… ah, let us be when it comes to certain days, okay?" Elsa laughed, winking at Anna, who returned the gesture.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll be over tonight at nine. Sound good?"

"Sounds great, bro. See you soon."

Elsa hung up and placed the phone back on the nightstand. Anna sat back up, pouting slightly, arms folded over her chest.

"I lost it," Anna grunted with disappointment. "I'm not feeling up for it anymore. Your brother is a total turn off. I mean, he's hot and all, but a turn off."

Elsa laughed again. "Well, I guess I'm pretty over it, too. We were caught up in the moment… speaking of, how did we end up this way anyhow?"

"I think we were quoting a bunch of sultry Shakespeare lines," Anna quipped, causing Elsa to roll her eyes heavily.

"I don't think that's how it started at all," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching.

* * *

_The Time: 8:48 PM_

Anna sank into the couch, a plate of leftover pasta in her hands as Elsa washed the last of the dishes. The television was on, playing reruns of some old show that they were hardly paying attention to.

"What's he gonna do if you and I get frisky like that again?" Anna giggled.

"He'll have to go out," Elsa snickered. "I mean, imagine the mortification between all three of us if he hears us moaning our names out into the open."

"You're so suppressive, though!" Anna mentioned. "Like, you hold back a lot of your noises that I have to drag them out of you. I, on the other hand, am very expressive if you haven't noticed."

"Neither have the neighbors," Elsa laughed.

Anna blushed. "…That's not true."

Elsa put away the dishes, drying her hands on a dishtowel. "And besides, he's busy on Saturday nights, mostly, so we'll have the house to ourselves," she went on briskly.

"Even still. Tonight wasn't a sex night," Anna pointed out.

"Here's the thing about you and me— we're unpredictable and spontaneous." Elsa turned off the overhead oven light. "Which is odd because that's the last thing anyone would describe me as. But with you, I'm not, ah… stable? No, that's not it." She frowned and stared off into space, plopping the dishtowel onto the counter. "I suppose I'm just trying to say that until he leaves, we'll have to be careful of when we choose to do such."

She turned, walked over to the couch, and sat beside Anna. The redhead was poking moodily at her pasta, as if it was to blame for Elsa's brother coming to call. She liked him a lot, actually. He was one of the few that knew of Elsa's sexuality before she had fully come out of the closet with as much confidence as she could muster. He had been there to support her through the hard times when anxiety was reaching its peak, and would coax Elsa out of her bedroom when she was feeling particularly moody.

Anna had gotten along quite well with Elsa's brother, having met him during a big family visit to Elsa's grandmother's big event, in which Anna was Elsa's plus-one, the two of them in the early stages of dating, their first month together.

As the two girls stared blankly at the flashing ad on TV that was announcing the newest craze for kids' toys, there was a loud knock on the door. Suddenly, no longer looking sullen over the cut backs of lovemaking with Elsa, Anna set her bowl down and rushed to the door, yanking it open without bothering to check the peephole to see who had graced them with company.

"Jack!" Anna sang as she threw herself into his arms.

"Hey, Anna!" Jack laughed, mussing up her bangs, as if she were another little sister like Elsa. He spotted his actual sibling grinning and standing up from the couch. "Are you gonna just stand there? Or are you gonna come gimme a hug?"

The blonde giggled, heading over to the two still locked in an embrace. Jack opened one arm and invited her into the hug.

"Thanks for taking me in for a while," Jack said truthfully, nudging Elsa's forehead with his nose. "It means a lot."

"You're always welcome here," Elsa told him.

"Ooh, Jack!" Anna said, bouncing back, her hands folded behind her. "Are you gonna come out with us next Friday night?"

"What's Friday night?" Elsa said, raising an eyebrow.

"Merida's invited us to go bar-hopping for some weird occasion," Anna explained. "Jack should totally come! I'm sure everyone would love to see you."

"Sounds like fun," Jack agreed as he hauled his two duffle bags inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Anna, you aren't twenty-one yet," Elsa reminded her girlfriend icily.

"Neither is Merida," Anna said. "Look, I'll just… take sips! I won't drink too much."

Elsa grimaced but didn't say anything further. She merely sighed and crossed over to the coffee table, picked up Anna's abandoned pasta dish, and rested it in the sink to be washed with the next batch of dirty dishes.

"Don't we have Thanksgiving dinner with the family tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"Oh shit, it _is_ tomorrow, isn't it?" Elsa said with a groan.

"Oh… that means heading over to my Dad's place!" Anna said excitedly, clapping her hands. "I guess I can make the mashed potatoes. He really likes those. It's the recipe Mom gave him but he never used. I took it for some reason a couple of years ago but I can't remember why…"

As Anna rambled to herself, Jack approached Elsa, watching her carefully. She was staring into the sink, her eyes glued to the wet spots on the stainless steel. He leaned against the counter.

"It also means we have our beloved grandmother to deal with tomorrow," he said.

"I don't want to go… I _can't_ go. Not now," Elsa said to the sink, her face paling more so than usual. "Jack, it's returned. My anxiety has come back and… I can't face Grandmother like this."

"What?" he breathed.

"You know how she is! I'll flip out, I'll have an emotional break down. I didn't realize… November… oh, hell!" Elsa kicked the sink counter doors with the heel of her foot. The dull pound broke Anna off and she turned to look at the Andersen siblings hovering over the sink, as if they were mourning.

She blinked and let the holiday register. She and Elsa always went over to her Dad's for Thanksgiving during the day but at night— at night they went to her grandmother's house and each visit was usually a living hell.

"I knew it, though. That's the thing; I _knew_," Elsa said, wagging a finger at Jack, a mad glint in her eyes. "I told Pabbie that she was gonna host something so it was in the back of my mind. I just couldn't put my finger on it then."

"Sorry that it was a total crash and burn," Jack said apologetically. "I didn't mean to bring it up. Els, you don't have to go."

"No… no, I do," Elsa mumbled. "Mom and Dad want me there, I know it. They're home by now, right?"

"Their plane is coming in tonight, yeah," Jack said.

"Perfect," Elsa sighed.

Anna walked over, placing a tender hand on the small of Elsa's back, making her jump slightly.

"Hey, it's just me," Anna said sweetly. "You and I will work this out together. We'll face it because it's the right thing to do. Maybe she won't bring anything up! Remember two years ago when same-sex marriage was legalized here? Oh my god, she was livid when she saw the two of us, as if I was gonna drop down on one knee in an instant." Anna chuckled wryly. "But she has nothing to bitch about _this_ year."

"She always finds something," Elsa said.

"At least it isn't Dad anymore," Jack said quietly.

Elsa inclined her head at her big brother, nodding ever so slightly at his words.

"Yes… yes, thank god," she said.

"We'll get through it," Anna assured. "We'll have dinner with my Dad and then head over to your grandmother's place. From there, you just keep your attention on me, okay?"

Elsa smiled gratefully at her girlfriend. "I think I can do that."

"Great!" Anna said, giving her the thumbs up. "We're gonna do just fine, I promise."

* * *

_The Place: David Christensen's House  
__The Date: Thursday, 27 November 2014 (Thanksgiving)  
__The Time: 4:28 PM  
__The Weather: Rainy_

Elsa had gone over to Anna's house plenty of times. From the introduction to their parents when they first started dating to the late nights in the basement/guest room when Anna was a senior in high school. It was a place full of pleasant and nerve-racking memories. But she always liked visiting the Christensen residence. Another place to call home when all else was lost.

Both girls were dressed in their modest best: a white blouse and light blue pencil skirt for Elsa, a black blouse with a magenta jacket and a blue skirt for Anna. Elsa was balancing Anna's dish of mashed potatoes while her girlfriend jovially knocked on the door. Both of them strained their ears, ready to hear the shrill bark of Anna's dog but realization washed over them after a few beats. Anna turned and smiled weakly at Elsa.

"I almost forgot… Pumpkin's not with us anymore," she said sadly.

"It's been two years and I still expect to hear her," Elsa nodded.

Pumpkin was a tiny bull terrier that had the most adorable attitude that all dogs should yearn to possess. But she had to be put down shortly after Anna moved in with Elsa, which sent Anna into a state of grieving for about a week before she would get out of the house. It was a little odd, Elsa had thought, for Anna to be moping that much over a dog but she had never had one pass away to compare and sympathize to Anna. She had managed to cheer Anna up with some Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a marathon of her favorite Anime on the last day.

"Oh well." Anna mustered a big smile and turned back around, pounding on the door again. "DAD! It's Anna and Elsa! Open the damn door!"

Elsa rolled her eyes and shifted the serving tray from one hand to the other. The sound of muffled footsteps came from the other side of the door and it opened. The bright, smiling face of David Christensen with a pair bright grey eyes and scraggly red hair revealed itself to the two girls. Elsa snorted into her free hand and Anna started to giggle. One side of David's face was covered in shaving cream and the other half was shaved smoothly.

"Sorry, ladies, I was trying to shave and the water was running and—" he tried but Anna bustled past him.

"Yeah, yeah, Dad," Anna said, shaking her head. "Go finish up while Elsa and I set the table."

David flushed and stepped aside for Elsa. She grinned at him and inclined her head. "Good evening, David."

"Ah, good evening, Elsa," David said sheepishly. "Make yourself at home."

He shut the door behind him and headed into the hall towards the bathroom to finish his previous task. Elsa followed Anna into the kitchen and placed the mashed potatoes on the counter. The redhead bounced around her old home, getting out spices, checking the turkey in the oven, and taste testing the other foods laid around the room. Elsa leaned on a counter by the living room entrance, trying to even out her breathing. The event coming up with seeing her grandmother was weighing on her and she could feel a panic attack brewing. Her parents wouldn't be very happy if she skipped out on the dinner and Elsa didn't want to disappoint them. Anna would be her protector, yes, but she sincerely hoped that the attack wouldn't happen during the meal. It would be mortifying.

"Do we have to?" Elsa suddenly asked.

Anna paused from her spot by the fridge, hand reaching out to open it.

"If you're really stressing about it," Anna said slowly. "Then no. No, we don't. Elsa, I'm not gonna force you into doing something you don't want to do. You're the one who said you wanted to go… see your parents and everything."

Elsa moaned and rubbed her hands over her face, lifting her glasses up onto her forehead as her fingers slipped under them and over her eyes. "I know…"

"Look, if worst comes to worst, then we'll get outta there," Anna said. "If she starts berating us on our lifestyle, it's on her. We're gonna get there, eat, talk, and get out as fast as time lets us. But if you start to feel uncomfortable, let me know and I'll make up some random excuse to leave."

The blonde peeked at her girlfriend with a grateful smile. The overwhelming sense of panic was slowly dissipating as she allowed Anna's words to sink in. Anna leaned over and gave Elsa a kiss on the nose.

"You worry too much sometimes," she said with a playful shake of her head.

"You know me," Elsa muttered, her hands falling to her sides and glasses plopping on the edge of her nose. "It's a bad habit."

"You'll break it eventually," Anna giggled. "But it is quite endearing." She wandered over to the drawers and plucked out the silverware. "Can you grab the plates, please?"

"Sure."

So they went on, setting up the table for their lunch. David came out a few minutes later, just as the girls placed the final touches to the set, with his face freshly shaven.

"Excellent," he applauded. "Thank you, girls."

"You're welcome, David," Elsa said. "I apologize if I don't eat much. Anna and I are still going to catch a late dinner with my family."

"Oh, it's no problem. Whatever you don't eat I'm taking with me to my poker game tonight."

"You have a game tonight?" Anna said, quirking a brow. "Doesn't John have better things to do on a Thanksgiving."

"Plans canceled on him," David shrugged. "And it doesn't matter. Usually I have your grandparents over, Anna, but they're still in England."

"Lucky ducks," Anna mumbled as she dragged a serving tray to the table.

Elsa smiled after the redhead before washing her hands idly, still talking to David.

"Well, I'm glad to be of company," she said pleasantly.

"Happy to have you," he said. "It's always nice to have my favorite girls over for lunch… which should be happening more often."

"Yeah, Dad, when we have the time and I'm off of school," Anna said as she came back into the kitchen to get another tray. "I still have finals to worry about next month."

"Of course, of course," David nodded. "But you will come around for Christmas, yes?"

"That is definite," Elsa confirmed. "Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with you."

David smiled. "That's right. Well, ladies, let's get eating!"

"Here, here!" Anna cheered, pouring two glasses of wine for herself and Elsa.

Anna's father was a lawyer of child and family law. He lived a modest lifestyle in the same house he raised Anna in, was a kind man to all of his neighbors, and was a very important figure in Elsa's life. She had never met such a humble and hilarious man before. When Anna had first introduced the two, Elsa was insanely jealous that Anna was so close to her father to the point he didn't flinch when she swore out loud— be it on purpose or by accident. He helped Elsa out on many occasions and she was always happy to see him.

It was tradition that Anna give her father a hard time. She loved him to bits and was so grateful to have him in her life. David had put up with so much when it came to Anna that, frankly, she wondered how he managed to deal with her. It was a joke nowadays but the redhead kept those memories close to her heart.

That early dinner was spent laughing and talking about the little things. David listened to Elsa's predicament about work and he agreed with Anna: make a name for herself. At best, he said, she should become a private photographer but she should follow her heart wherever it took her. So that gave her something to think about. Anna went on and on about her classes and how her Art History teacher still hacked and coughed as he taught. All in all, it was a pleasant time spent with Anna's father.

When it was time to go, David gave both of the girls a kiss on the cheek and sent them on their way.

* * *

_The Place: Ruth Andersen's Residence  
__The Date: Thursday, 27 November 2014  
__The Time: 7:32 PM  
__The Weather: Rainy_

They were sitting in the car in front of the house that belonged to Elsa's grandmother. Elsa was at the wheel, her forehead pressed against it and her eyes staring at her feet. Her shoulders were trembling and her breathing was erratic. Anna was rubbing her back gently, whispering sweet nothings to try and sooth her.

"We don't have to go in," Anna said. "We can go home and watch a couple of movies, crash on the couch… make a night out of it."

"No. We're already here—"

Anna cut her off. "Elsa, you're nearing a panic attack."

"I _have_ to!" Elsa insisted. She looked up helplessly at Anna. "I've come so far. Just… just gimme a moment."

_Stubborn_, Anna said with a small shake of her head. _No matter what I do, she's gonna want to go inside… at least she's trying to face her demons._

So they waited for a few minutes in the car as Elsa collected herself. She leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath in before nodding.

"Okay. Let's go," she sighed.

Anna leaned over and kissed Elsa's cheek. "You let me know when you wanna go and we'll get outta there faster than you can say Thanksgiving disaster."

Elsa chuckled lightly. "Will do."

They got out of the car and headed slowly up the drive. Elsa raised her fist and knocked. The two waited for a few brief moments until the doors opened and Jack's face appeared.

"Hey, girls," he greeted.

"Hiya!" Anna chimed.

"Heya," Elsa mumbled.

"Come on in. Grandmother is entertaining her bridge group in the den so you can sneak into the kitchen and see our folks," he said. "They've been wondering where you were."

"Has Grandmother said anything about me yet?" Elsa asked darkly as he led them through the front hall.

"Not really," Jack said with a wry smile. "But don't worry about it. She might be good tonight."

"Is Toothiana here yet?" Anna asked excitedly.

"She is," Jack grinned over his shoulder. "She's checking out the rest of the house so she'll be down in a few."

Anna clapped her hands excitedly. "Great!"

Elsa smiled softly as they entered the kitchen where Elsa's parents were enjoying some of wine. Akthar Andersen was a tall man with strawberry blonde hair that was greying on the sides, mimicking his two children's unusual hair color. He had a mustache growing just above his lip and warm brown eyes. Ithunn Andersen was slightly shorter than her husband with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Anna had once questioned the hair color of the Andersen siblings because neither matched the color of their parents. Elsa explained that she and Jack had received the recessive gene for hair color; her great, great, great grandfather having the hair color years ago.

"Greetings Mr. and Mrs. Andersen!" Anna sang, waving her hand enthusiastically. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Akthar smiled and raised his hand in greeting, his lips attached to the glass.

"Hello, Anna," said Ithunn pleasantly. "Elsa, darling, it's wonderful to see you here."

"It's a struggle," Elsa admitted as her mother pulled her into a hug. "But I thought I should see my family."

"You're doing well so far," Akthar praised, taking his turn to hug his daughter. "Proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad," Elsa said.

Toothiana came downstairs a few minutes later, getting attack by Anna with a huge embrace. The group then poured more wine, passing it around. Just as they did at David's, they talked about things going on in their lives.

"I don't understand something," Anna brought up after they finished discussing Toothiana's dental school. "Why doesn't Jack stay with you?" She nodded at Elsa's parents.

"We offered," Akthar said with a chuckle. "But Jack wanted to stay with the two of you since he hasn't seen his sister in a while. Besides, we were out of town when he needed a place to stay."

"Where are you staying, Tooth?" Elsa asked.

"I'm on campus," she explained. "I stay in a sorority with a bunch of gals and… well, imagine if I let Jack stay there. I think that he wouldn't be able to handle himself."

"What can I say? The ladies love me," Jack laughed.

"Me too," Anna winked.

Elsa rolled her eyes while the others laughed. The kitchen door opened and Ruth Andersen, Elsa's paternal grandmother, walked in.

"It looks like we're all here," she said, her eyes skimming over the room. "The dining room is set. Shall we?"

Elsa's parents exited, followed by Jack and Toothiana. Ruth stared at Elsa critically before following suit. Anna scoffed and rolled her eyes heavily.

"Wow, okay. Hello to you, too," she ground out.

"At least she didn't say anything," Elsa said.

"That was still incredibly rude," Anna pointed out. "C'mon. Let's eat and get the hell out of here. I have a bed that's waiting for me and a day off of school tomorrow."

She grabbed Elsa by the hand and yanked her forward, marching the both of them into the dining room. The others were being seated, chatting idly as they pulled out their chairs. Elsa and Anna were seated across Toothiana and Jack, Akthar at the head of the table and Ithunn on his right, beside Elsa, Ruth on his left, beside Jack. The rest of the guests were faceless people Elsa knew nothing about but somehow knew Ruth. Most likely they were members of Ruth's country club that she had invited over.

The dinner was loud as the other guests gossiped and chortled. Akthar and Ithunn were happily to Ruth while Jack and Toothiana flirted quietly with one another. Elsa glared slightly over her wine glass at her brother knowing full well if she and Anna were to flirt at the table it would cause a total drama. She wished she had the freedom to do what she wanted with the girl she loved without her grandmother— and most likely her friends— barking about how it was a sin and a disgust.

"So… how are you, Elsa?" Ruth finally spoke up while Akthar and Ithunn paused their conversation to eat.

Elsa shrugged. "I'm fine. How are you, Grandmother?"

"I am well, thank you," Ruth said.

Akthar glanced up from his meal to watch his mother carefully.

"How is work?" Ruth asked.

"It's good," Elsa responded blandly.

The way they were speaking was robotic and forced, making those who were listening feel slightly uncomfortable. The club guests hadn't noticed but the Andersens, Toothiana, and Anna were shifting nervously in their seats. Elsa was refusing to look up at Ruth, her skin crawling. She didn't want to talk with her grandmother now. She had thought the evening was going to be survivable.

Apparently not…

"Are you still the number one bridge player at the country club?" Elsa tried.

"As usual," Ruth said with a tiny laugh. "Have you moved on with your silly lifestyle?"

"_Mother_," Akthar hissed.

Ruth glanced at her son before ending the discussion. Elsa and Anna exchanged looks before Anna reached over and gently squeezed Elsa's leg affectionately.

"I saw that," muttered Ruth.

"Oh you caught me!" Anna cried sarcastically. "Woe is me that I can't give my girlfriend the slightest bit of—"

"Anna, that's enough," Elsa said. "It's fine…"

"No, it's not," Anna said shortly.

"Really, Ruth, it's no big deal," sighed Ithunn. "Let's leave the girls alone for one dinner."

"I won't have their filth at the dinner table," Ruth grumbled. "Not in front of polite company."

Elsa stood up quickly, silence falling over the room.

"Okay, we're done here before this gets worse," she said, harvesting all her strength and confidence that she had. She could _feel_ the panic attack rising up and she wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. "Anna, let's go."

"Right behind you," Anna agreed. "Jack, we'll see you at home."

"Uh… right," Jack said, waving after them.

Elsa sent her parents an apologetic glance before she and Anna hightailed it out of the house.

Once they reached the car— Anna in the driver's seat— Elsa let out a strangled shout.

"You handled that well," Anna praised. "I'm proud of you."

"Just get me home," Elsa moaned.

"No problem," Anna smiled. "Still wanna watch a movie and then crash?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

_The Place: Garfield High School  
__The Date: Monday, 2007  
__The Time: 1:42 PM  
__The Weather: Partly Cloudy_

They had just finished their duet and were slightly out of breath, sitting on the black boxes that were scattered on the stage for their use. Elsa was bright pink in the face, Anna playing Maureen so flawlessly that it made her all the more attractive. But the performance was over and their teacher was giving notes.

"Elsa, I'm very surprised but most definitely pleased with your duet," he said. "And Anna, I enjoyed your usage of stage."

"Thank you," Anna grinned.

"Your first performance of the year was very well done," he went on. "You girls work good together. Consider doing our first neutral dialogue as partners. I'd like to see you do a regular scene rather than just singing."

"Sounds great," Elsa managed. _Unlikely. Anna used you for the assignment and is now going to completely dump you and leave you behind._

"All right… who's next?" the teacher asked.

At the end of class, Elsa packed up her bag as hastily as she could to avoid the heartbreak of the inevitable 'sorry, I was just using you' speech from Anna before she would go on with her life without Elsa. But to her absolute shock, Anna caught up with her just as she walked out the door.

"Leaving me behind, partner?" Anna giggled. "Let me walk you to class."

Elsa blinked. "You… you're still gonna be friends with me?"

"Uh, _duh_," Anna scoffed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I… uh…"

"Elsa, you have some serious stuff to sort out in there." Anna smiled affectionately. "You and I are gonna be best friends. I told you so. I dunno what's got you thinking we won't be should get out now 'cause we're not going to split up any time soon." She laughed a laugh that warmed Elsa's heart. "Looks like you're stuck with me!"

Elsa found herself smiling back. "I don't mind."

"Great!" Ann chimed. "C'mon, cutie, let's head over to your next class. What is it?"

_She called me 'cutie!' Oh my god, I think I'm going to pass out_, Elsa thought with a tiny gulp. "Ph-photo class."

"Really? So you like taking photos?" Anna asked conversationally.

"I _love_ taking photos," Elsa said, her face brightening.

"You and I should do a photo shoot together or something. For a project if you ever get one like that," Anna offered.

"I'd like that," Elsa said earnestly. "I'll let you know once something comes up."

"Wonderful!" Anna clapped her hands. "I'm looking forward to it."

They arrived at their destination and said their farewells, Elsa being left at her classroom food with a goofy grin on her face, watching the freshman bound off to her final class. She sighed dreamily and headed inside, her face a brilliant shade of red.

* * *

**I've been busy with work. Sorry, everyone. This was more of a filler than I intended but I suppose it has its purpose such as the introduction of the families. It wasn't my best either but I promise the next one will be better. Promise.**

**Fav/Follow/Review**

**See you next time!**


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